Prohibits surgical declawing of cats and other animals.

A4156

ASSEMBLY, No. 4156

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 19, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman� CAROL A. MURPHY

District 7 (Burlington)

Assemblywoman� SHAMA A. HAIDER

District 37 (Bergen)

SYNOPSIS

���� Prohibits surgical declawing of cats and other
animals.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act

concerning the surgical declawing of cats and
other animals, supplementing Title 4 of the Revised Statutes, and amending
R.S.4:22-26.�

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� (New section)����� a.���� No person shall
perform, or cause to be performed, an onychectomy (declawing) or flexor
tendonectomy procedure by any means on a cat or other animal, unless the
procedure is deemed necessary for a therapeutic purpose by a licensed
veterinarian.� A person who violates this provision shall be guilty of a
disorderly persons offense.�

���� b.��� Whenever a licensed veterinarian
determines that an onychectomy or flexor tendonectomy is necessary for a
therapeutic purpose, the veterinarian shall prepare and file a written
statement with the Department of Health setting forth the purpose for performing
the procedure and providing the name and address of the owner or keeper of the
animal, and provide a copy of that statement to the owner of the animal.� A
veterinarian who fails to comply with the provisions of this section shall be
subject to disciplinary action by the State Board of Veterinary Medical
Examiners.�

���� c.���� As used in this section, �therapeutic
purpose� means for purpose of necessity to address the medical condition of the
animal, such as an existing or recurring illness, infection, disease, injury,
or abnormal condition in a claw that compromises the animal�s health.�
�Therapeutic purpose� shall not mean cosmetic or aesthetic reasons or reasons
of convenience in keeping or handling the animal.�

���� 2.��� R.S.4:22-26 is amended to read as follows:

���� 4:22-26.� A person who shall:

���� a.���� (1)���� Overdrive, overload, drive when
overloaded, overwork, abuse, or needlessly kill a living animal or creature, or
cause or procure, by any direct or indirect means, including but not limited to
through the use of another living animal or creature, any such acts to be done;

���� (2)�� Torment, torture, maim, hang, poison,
unnecessarily or cruelly beat, cruelly abuse, or needlessly mutilate a living
animal or creature, or cause or procure, by any direct or indirect means,
including but not limited to through the use of another living animal or
creature, any such acts to be done;

���� (3)�� Cause the death of, or serious bodily
injury to, a living animal or creature from commission of any act described in
paragraph (2), (4), or (5) of this subsection, by any direct or indirect means,
including but not limited to through the use of another living animal or
creature, or otherwise cause or procure any such acts to be done;

���� (4)��� Fail, as the owner or a person otherwise
charged with the care of a living animal or creature, to provide the living
animal or creature with necessary care, or otherwise cause or procure such an
act to be done; or

���� (5)�� Cause bodily injury to a living animal or
creature from commission of the act described in paragraph (4) of this
subsection;

���� b.��� (Deleted by amendment, P.L.2003, c.232)

���� c.���� Inflict unnecessary cruelty upon a living
animal or creature, by any direct or indirect means, including but not limited
to through the use of another living animal or creature; or leave the living
animal or creature unattended in a vehicle under inhumane conditions adverse to
the health or welfare of the living animal or creature;

���� d.��� Receive or offer for sale a horse that is
suffering from abuse or neglect, or which by reason of disability, disease,
abuse or lameness, or any other cause, could not be worked, ridden or otherwise
used for show, exhibition or recreational purposes, or kept as a domestic pet
without violating the provisions of article 2 (C.4:22-15 et seq.) of chapter 22
of Title 4 of the Revised Statutes;

���� e.���� Keep, use, be connected with or
interested in the management of, or receive money or other consideration for
the admission of a person to, a place kept or used for the purpose of fighting
or baiting a living animal or creature;

���� f.���� Be present and witness, pay admission to,
encourage, aid or assist in an activity enumerated in subsection e. of this
section;

���� g.��� Permit a person�s place owned or
controlled by the person to be used as provided in subsection e. of this
section;

���� h.��� Carry, or cause to be carried, a living
animal or creature in or upon a vehicle or otherwise, in a cruel or inhumane
manner;

���� i.���� Use a dog or dogs for the purpose of
drawing or helping to draw a vehicle for business purposes;

���� j.���� Impound or confine or cause to be
impounded or confined in a pound or other place a living animal or creature,
and shall fail to supply the living animal or creature during such confinement
with a sufficient quantity of good and wholesome food and water;

���� k.��� Abandon a maimed, sick, infirm or disabled
animal or creature to die in a public place;

���� l.���� Willfully sell, or offer to sell, use,
expose, or cause or permit to be sold or offered for sale, used or exposed, a
horse or other animal having the disease known as glanders or farcy, or other
contagious or infectious disease dangerous to the health or life of human
beings or animals, or who shall, when any such disease is beyond recovery,
refuse, upon demand, to deprive the animal of life;

���� m.�� Own, operate, manage or conduct a roadside
stand or market for the sale of merchandise along a public street or highway;
or a shopping mall, or a part of the premises thereof; and keep a living animal
or creature confined, or allowed to roam in an area whether or not the area is
enclosed, on these premises as an exhibit; except that this subsection shall
not be applicable to:� a pet shop licensed pursuant to P.L.1941, c.151
(C.4:19-15.1 et seq.); a person who keeps an animal, in a humane manner, for
the purpose of the protection of the premises; or a recognized breeders'
association, a 4-H club, an educational agricultural program, an equestrian
team, a humane society or other similar charitable or nonprofit organization
conducting an exhibition, show or performance;

���� n.��� Keep or exhibit a wild animal at a
roadside stand or market located along a public street or highway of this
State; a gasoline station; or a shopping mall, or a part of the premises
thereof;

���� o.��� Sell, offer for sale, barter or give away
or display live baby chicks, ducklings or other fowl or rabbits, turtles or
chameleons which have been dyed or artificially colored or otherwise treated so
as to impart to them an artificial color;

���� p.��� Use any animal, reptile, or fowl for the
purpose of soliciting any alms, collections, contributions, subscriptions,
donations, or payment of money except in connection with exhibitions, shows or
performances conducted in a bona fide manner by recognized breeders'
associations, 4-H clubs or other similar bona fide organizations;

���� q.��� Sell or offer for sale, barter, or give
away living rabbits, turtles, baby chicks, ducklings or other fowl under two
months of age, for use as household or domestic pets;

���� r.���� Sell, offer for sale, barter or give away
living baby chicks, ducklings or other fowl, or rabbits, turtles or chameleons
under two months of age for any purpose not prohibited by subsection q. of this
section and who shall fail to provide proper facilities for the care of such
animals;

���� s.���� Artificially mark sheep or cattle, or
cause them to be marked, by cropping or cutting off both ears, cropping or
cutting either ear more than one inch from the tip end thereof, or half
cropping or cutting both ears or either ear more than one inch from the tip end
thereof, or who shall have or keep in the person's possession sheep or cattle,
which the person claims to own, marked contrary to this subsection unless they
were bought in market or of a stranger;

���� t.���� Abandon a domesticated animal;

���� u.��� For amusement or gain, cause, allow, or
permit the fighting or baiting of a living animal or creature; or engage in,
facilitate, or provide the means to engage in, trunk fighting as defined in
section 1 of P.L.2021, c.83 (C.4:22-24.1);

���� v.��� Own, possess, keep, train, promote,
purchase, or knowingly sell a living animal or creature for the purpose of
fighting or baiting that animal or creature; or own, possess, buy, sell,
transfer, or manufacture animal fighting paraphernalia as defined pursuant to
R.S.4:22-24 for the purpose of engaging in or otherwise promoting or
facilitating the fighting or baiting of a living animal or creature;

���� w.�� Gamble on the outcome of a fight involving
a living animal or creature;

���� x.��� Knowingly sell or barter or offer for sale
or barter, at wholesale or retail, the fur or hair of a domestic dog or cat or
any product made in whole or in part from the fur or hair of a domestic dog or
cat, unless such fur or hair for sale or barter is from a commercial grooming
establishment or a veterinary office or clinic or is for use for scientific
research;

���� y.��� (1)�� Knowingly sell or barter, or offer
for sale or barter, at wholesale or retail, for human consumption, the flesh of
a domestic dog or cat, or any product made in whole or in part from the flesh
of a domestic dog or cat;

���� (2)�� Knowingly slaughter a horse for human
consumption;

���� (3)�� Knowingly sell or barter, or offer for
sale or barter, at wholesale or retail, for human consumption, the flesh of a
horse, or any product made in whole or in part from the flesh of a horse, or
knowingly accept or publish newspaper advertising that includes the offering
for sale, trade, or distribution of any such item for human consumption;

���� (4)�� Knowingly transport a horse for the
purpose of slaughter for human consumption;

���� (5)�� Knowingly transport horsemeat, or any
product made in whole or in part from the flesh of a horse, for the purpose of
human consumption;

���� z.���� Surgically debark or silence a dog in
violation of section 1 or 2 of P.L.2002, c.102 (C.4:19-38 or C.4:19-39);

���� aa.�� Use a live pigeon, fowl or other bird for
the purpose of a target, or to be shot at either for amusement or as a test of
skill in marksmanship, except that this subsection and subsections bb. and cc.
shall not apply to the shooting of game;

���� bb.� Shoot at a bird used as described in
subsection aa. of this section, or is a party to such shooting;
[
or
]

���� cc.�� Lease a building, room, field or premises,
or knowingly permit the use thereof for the purposes of subsection aa. or bb.
of this section
; or

����
dd.� Perform, or cause to be performed, an
onychectomy (declawing) or flexor tendonectomy procedure on a cat or other
animal in violation of section 1 of
P.L.���� , c.����
(C.�������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)
--

���� Shall forfeit and pay a sum according to the
following schedule, to be sued for and recovered, with costs, in a civil action
by any person in the name of the municipality or county wherein the defendant
resides or where the offense was committed:

���� For a violation of subsection e., f., g., u.,
v., w., or z. of this section or of paragraph (3) of subsection a. of this
section, or for a second or subsequent violation of paragraph (2) or (5) of
subsection a. of this section, a sum of not less than $3,000 nor more than
$5,000;

���� For a violation of subsection l. of this
section, for a first violation of paragraph (2) or (5) of subsection a. of this
section, a sum of not less than $1,000 nor more than $3,000;

���� For a violation of paragraph (4) of subsection
a. of this section, or subsection c.
or dd.
of this section, a sum of
not less than $500 nor more than $2,000;

���� For a violation of subsection x. or paragraph
(1) of subsection y. of this section, a sum of not less than $500 nor more than
$1,000 for each domestic dog or cat fur or fur or hair product or domestic dog
or cat carcass or meat product sold, bartered, or offered for sale or barter;

���� For a violation of paragraph (2), (3), (4), or
(5) of subsection y. of this section, a sum of not less than $500 nor more than
$1,000 for each horse slaughtered or transported for the purpose of slaughter
for human consumption, or for each horse carcass or meat product transported,
sold or bartered, or offered or advertised for sale or barter;

���� For a violation of subsection t. of this
section, a sum of not less than $500 nor more than $1,000, but if the violation
occurs on or near a highway, a mandatory sum of $1,000;

���� For a violation of subsection d., h., j., k.,
aa., bb., or cc. of this section or of paragraph (1) of subsection a. of this
section, a sum of not less than $250 nor more than $1,000; and

���� For a violation of subsection i., m., n., o.,
p., q., r., or s. of this section, a sum of not less than $250 nor more than
$500.

(cf:� P.L.2021, c.83, s.2)

���� 3.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.�

STATEMENT

���� This bill would prohibit a
person from performing, or causing to be performed, an onychectomy (declawing)
or flexor tendonectomy procedure by any means on a cat or other animal, unless
the procedure is deemed necessary for a therapeutic purpose by a licensed
veterinarian.� Any person who violates this provision would be guilty of a
disorderly persons offense, which is punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, a
term of imprisonment of up to six months, or both.� A violator would also be
subject to a civil penalty of between $500 and $2,000.

���� For purposes of the bill, the
term

�therapeutic purpose� means for purpose of necessity to address the
medical condition of the animal, such as an existing or recurring illness,
infection, disease, injury, or abnormal condition in a claw that compromises
the animal�s health.� �Therapeutic purpose� would not include cosmetic or
aesthetic reasons or reasons of convenience in keeping or handling the animal.�
Under the bill, whenever a licensed veterinarian determines that an onychectomy
or flexor tendonectomy is necessary for a therapeutic purpose, the veterinarian
would be required to file a written statement with the Department of Health,
and provide a copy of that statement to the owner or keeper of the animal.� A
veterinarian who fails to comply with this provision would be subject to
disciplinary action by the State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners.

���� An onychectomy involves
amputating the last bone of each toe on a cat�s paw with a scalpel, guillotine,
or laser.� A flexor tendonectomy, involves severing the tendon that controls
the claw in each toe, so that the cat keeps its claws, but cannot flex or
extend them.� Sometimes they are medically necessary such as for the removal of
cancerous tumors.��