A Breeder Had Stella's Vocal Cords Cut to Stifle Her Voice.
Use Your Voice to Stop This Cruel Practice in Massachusetts.
A bill is now before the Massachusetts legislature to ban devocalization—a nonessential surgery in which vocal cords are cut just to suppress or remove a dog's or cat's voice. There are serious risks regardless of the veterinarian's skill. Some animals die. Others struggle to breathe, choke on food and water, and gag uncontrollably the rest of their lives.
Sadly, this cruel practice is more common than you think. Some breeders devocalize routinely to keep many dogs under the radar or to facilitate exhibition. Occasionally, an irresponsible or uniformed pet owner will order the convenience surgery, leaving his or her 'best friend' mute or chronically hoarse. Devocalized dogs and cats don't benefit at all: They're abandoned like any other unwanted pet or breeding and show animals past their prime.
An Act Prohibiting Devocalization, House Bill 344, would put an end to this cruelty in Massachusetts. But powerful groups that profit from devocalization—the dog breeders' association and Mass. Veterinary Medical Assn.—are fighting the bill aggressively. They can kill it outright or add amendments that would make it unenforceable. Either way, helpless animals would continue to be maimed.
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