“If it becomes law, a bill sponsored by Representative Lida E. Harkins, titled “An Act Prohibiting Devocalization of Dogs and Cats,”, HB 344, will make it illegal in the state of Massachusetts to perform devocalization procedures for reasons of convenience and ignorance. As you may know, debarking, or devocalization, is an invasive surgical procedure that involves removing a large amount of laryngeal tissue to try to make dogs mute. It involves a great deal of post-operative pain. Because this procedure is inherently cruel and unnecessary, many veterinarians condemn it and refuse to perform it.

Debarking robs dogs of one of their main methods of communication. Dogs vocalize to communicate countless feelings—fear, frustration, danger, pain, boredom, and even joy and happiness. Dogs in severely crowded puppy mills and laboratories and dogs who are neglected and left alone in backyards for hours on end are the most common victims of debarking. Just as with any unwanted behavior—canine or otherwise—addressing the reasons that cause barking that is perceived to be excessive is the only humane and civilized way of addressing the behavior.

“What is devocalizing or silencing?

Devocalizing or silencing is a painful surgical procedure to remove or cut the vocal chords. This procedure can cause paralysis of the larynx, difficulty in breathing, and adverse reaction to anesthesia. An animal may be forced to undergo multiple surgeries because of regrowth of tissue.

The proposed legislation would make it illegal for anyone to surgically devocalize a dog or cat. There are exceptions to protect the health of the animal. Only in rare instances would surgical devocalizing or silencing be medically necessary.

More typically, surgical devocalizing is a cruel, inhumane act done for the convenience of the owner. It does not address the problem causing the barking such as stress, fear, loneliness, frustration, illness, injury, poor socialization, lack of training, and instead is akin to cutting the vocal chords of a noisy child.

Dogs and cats that cannot vocalize their intentions, moods or needs present a risk to the public and increased liability to pet owners. People may not realize a dog is about to bite or attack, for example, because the dog has not barked, and because he has been debarked, can only make a wheezy, rasping sound. A dog that cannot bark also cannot signal danger to family members, for example, from an intruder or a fire.

Also, devocalizing or silencing enables illegal activities associated with dogs and cats: Owners trying to avoid pet limits, licensing or nuisance laws may simply debark their pets. Worse, commercial breeders hiding the numbers of dogs or cats they have and the squalid conditions in which they are kept, notoriously rely on surgical devocalizing. Surgical devocalizing allows hoarders to go undetected for too long. Dog fighters also use surgical debarking to avoid detection of their criminal activities.

Making surgical devocalizing or silencing a crime will, in fact, give law enforcement and prosecutors another tool in investigating and prosecuting dog fighting and animal cruelty as well as enforcing regulations for commercial breeders

Your Voice Is Needed!
Please politely urge your state representative to support “An Act Prohibiting Devocalization of Dogs and Cats”, HB 344, to protect animals in Massachusetts from this frivolous, cruel mutilation. You can contact all the representatives using the following information:

You can find your rep and senator here:
http://wheredoivotema.com

Look for rep and senator in general court