El Paso representative proposes ban on elective surgeries for pets, sparking city debate

Rep. Chris Canales wants to make changes to the elective surgeries allowed for cats and dogs.

CBS 4 News
by Jennifer Cuevas
Tuesday, January 16, 2024

EL PASO, Texas [CBS4] — An El Paso city representative is looking to make a change in the types of elective surgeries allowed for cats and dogs.

City Representative Chris Canales, who oversees District 8, said he wants to make the change to ensure animals are being treated ethically.

“As soon as I found out that those were already illegally in the city, I think it was a very easy decision to move forward with this item," Canales said.

City Representative Chris Canales, who oversees District 8, said he wants to outlaw certain elective surgeries for pets to ensure animals are being treated ethically. (Credit: KFOX14/CBS4)

The elective surgeries that will be discussed for a possible ban during Wednesday's city council meeting include:

• Declawing
• Ear cropping
• Tail docking
• Debarking
• Demeowing

Rep. Canales added studies have shown that the surgeries are done for cosmetic purposes and not for medical purposes.

“It’s been since studied and proven that these surgeries don’t have benefits, in the past it’s been thought that ear clippings have improved hearing for dogs, that’s shown not to be true.”

Dr. Roger Freund, the owner and veterinarian at Coronado Animal Hospital said this is an overstep by the council.

“There’s some of them that probably aren’t necessary anymore but as far as whether you’re going to ban a surgical procedure that’s something I think the council has to think long and hard before they cross that line."

Dr. Freund added the decision to place an animal for surgery is ultimately up to the pet owner and their veterinarian.

“This should actually be done on the medical professional level, if we decide this is not what we ethically think we should be doing, then that’s where it should come from, I don’t think it should come from the city council to make this decision for the pet owners and for the veterinarians.”

He added while he has not performed the elective surgeries up for discussion in over a decade, he believes some can serve as positive alternatives.

“Cats can be destructive, they can scratch people, especially people who are elderly or there’s young kids and they get scratched and the decision is we either declaw the cat or we get rid of the cat then maybe we can talk about that as being an alternative," Freund said.

Over at the dog park, pet owners were generally against the city looking to impose retaliations.

“It’s more of a personal decision for the owner and the pets and the vet, I don’t think the government really needs to be involved in how I take care of my dog," Don Hearn said.

While pet owners shared they are against elective prosecutes, they said it should be up to each person to decide.

“I think that this should be between the owner and vet, this really depends between the owner and veterinarian what’s best for the animal," Rachel Neil said.

Rep. Canales added Thursday's meeting will not result in any policy changes.

He said the purpose of the agenda item is for staff to take a deeper dive into the issue, speak with the necessary players, and then come back with a draft policy to present to the city council in the upcoming 90 days.