Music

Black Sabbath's Geezer Butler asks cat owners to stop declawing

by Jesse Locke

In the midst of Black Sabbath’s final world tour, bassist and self-described “crazy cat person” Geezer Butler is urging pet owners to stop declawing their kitties. The metal pioneer issued a statement through the Humane Society to help pass a senate bill making New York the first U.S. state to ban the practice.

“Many know me as one of the founding members of Black Sabbath, but fewer likely know that I am what you might call a ‘crazy cat person,'” said Butler. “My wife and I have rescued many cats and we have never dreamed of putting them through an elective, convenience surgery such as declawing.”

“Can you imagine having your fingers chopped off at the last bone?” he continued. “That is what the equivalent is for cats who are declawed. It is dreadfully inhumane! A surge of veterinarians throughout New York support legislation to put declawing in the trash bin of history. I urge lawmakers to remain steadfast in those characteristics I admire most about New Yorkers and support the bill to ban the declawing of cats.”

Removing cats claws’ is currently banned in Israel, Brazil, and much of Europe but it remains legal in the United States and Canada. According to recent statistics, nearly one in four American cat owners declaw their pets, typically to protect furniture from scratches.

According to the New York Post and passionate anti-declawing assemblyperson Linda Rosenthal, veterinarians opposing the bill earn between $100 and $500 for each procedure.

If you stand with Butler on this cat-friendly cause, let them keep their hands of doom and continue to make rat salad.