West Hollywood bans cat declawing

The liberal enclave of West Hollywood, which has long championed the rights of gay men and women, has become the first city in the United States to ban "pet guardians" (also known as pet owners) from removing their cats' claws.

The ban on declawing - which involves the amputation of a cat's toes and tendons - came into effect after more than a year of campaigning by animal rights activists who say there are kinder ways of stopping cats scratching people and furniture.

The ban on declawing will apply to veterinarians in the city, which last year decreed that pet owners should be known as pet "guardians" and their pets referred to as "companion animals".

Declawing is already condemned by more than a dozen European nations, where cat owners opt instead for nail clipping, better training or claw caps.