As a province-wide ban on some procedures for pets is set to come into effect in Ontario soon, advocates say other controversial practices should have also made the list. Starting in January 2027, it will be illegal to declaw a cat, devocalize a dog or crop its ears. “There really isn’t any medical benefit to the animal for any of these procedures,” said Lisa Veit, the Guelph Humane Society’s executive director. These upcoming bans are part of the Provincial Animal Welfare Services Act, which was established in 2019. “We want people to have pets as their loved ones, as extended members of their family. But there is a responsibility to care for them,” Ontario Solicitor General Michael Kerzner told CTV News. Pet owners may think the procedures are harmless, but they can have big consequences. “Cats use their claws for climbing, for balance, for self-defence. When they don’t have their claws available to them, it can cause some behavioural issues,” Veit explained. Many cats undergo the procedure to discourage scratching at home, but some people don’t realize that along with the claws, the tips of the cat’s digits are also removed. Meanwhile, dog owners may devocalize their pet to decrease the volume of its bark. “Obviously, dogs use their barking as a major form of communication to other dogs and to their human companions,” said Veit. She added that it’s common for the Humane Society to see animals surrendered with these types of surgeries. Tail docking not included While strides are being made to protect animals from these procedures, advocates say more needs to be done. “All other provinces have some type of restriction on these types of cosmetic or medically unnecessary procedures. So, Ontario really has been lagging far behind,” Veit added. She questioned why ear cropping was included in the ban, while similar procedures weren’t. “We were really disappointed to see that. If you consider both ear cropping and tail docking as cosmetic procedures, why was only one included and not the other?” Tail docking is a surgical procedure that removes a portion of an animal’s tail to meet cosmetic standards of certain dog breeds. It will still be allowed in Ontario, making it the only province where it’s legal for veterinarians to perform the operation. “We have to also listen to rural Ontario. We have to listen to people that hunt. We have to listen to our stakeholders in the four corners [of the province],” said Kerzner when asked about the exclusion. When asked if the procedure will be included in the future, he said he cannot speculate what’s to come, but will continue to keep animal wellbeing a priority. “We’re hoping that this legislation is a first step and it’s something that the province will consider and implement in the future,” Veit concluded.
