Ed Boks speaks FOR declawing cats at Santa Monica City Council

Ed Boks was forced to resign from Los Angeles Animal Services April 2009. He has been trying to get a job in the animal services field but has not been able to find work because of his past. City Council made a motion of "no confidence" and demanded that he be fired because of his many mistakes. Since then he's decided to work AGAINST animals. Even though he wrote and posted articles against declawing cats even very recently, he's now working for the other side and speaking FOR declawing.

He is asked by councilmember at 6:01 "there was a vote of no confidence, you failed in your responsibility, asking for your resignation, did you indeed resign that post?" Boks replied at 6:18 "I resigned voluntarily because I fulfilled the terms of my agreement with the Mayor, not because of that motion." Boks was actually told to resign or be fired.

At 6:55 Boks states "the three shelters I ran became number one adoption centers in the world during my tenure, including Los Angeles." LA was not even the biggest adoption center in Southern California let alone the world. Same with New York City and Maricopa.

I've saved some of Boks' old posts as pdf files and uploaded to my site as he is deleting them. Just last month he said declawing is inhumane. Share all of this with anyone.

September 25, 2009
Boks posts on facebook that it's time to stop declawing.
http://www.animaladvocates.us/bandeclaw/Ed_Boks_anti-declaw-1.pdf

He posts the same to his blog same day. He deleted both of these posts but I saved copies knowing he'd delete them
http://www.animaladvocates.us/bandeclaw/boksnodeclaw1.pdf
He basically states the position of the Paw Project. Declaw is inhumane, causes behavioral problems which cause cats to be dumped at shelters.

August 13, 2009
Boks posts Dr. Jenny Conrad's no declaw billboard on his blog. Funny it's the photo I edited on my facebook page.
http://www.animaladvocates.us/bandeclaw/boksdeclawban3.pdf

July 11, 2008
Boks blogs as the GM that AB2427 is bad and declaw is inhumane. Blog is still up there, for now.
http://www.animaladvocates.us/bandeclaw/edboksdeclaw4.pdf
"AB 2427 (Eng), a bill sponsored by the California Veterinary Medical
Association (CVMA), will prevent local communities from deciding what
veterinary procedures they will allow in their communities. This could
affect future restrictions on declawing, tail docking, ear cropping and
similar inhumane procedures on animals."

January 2006
Boks gave me his GM position statements to post on the Dept website. See "cosmetic surgery."
"LAAS is against any unnecessary surgical procedure on animals when such a procedure is
performed solely for the convenience or pleasure of the animals owner. This includes
declawing cats, cropping ears, and docking tails."
http://www.animaladvocates.us/bandeclaw/bokspositionstatement.pdf

I worked for Boks from January 2006 to December 2006 (July officially). With absolute certainty I can tell you he was ALWAYS against declaw. He said it was unnecessary and inhumane. He was against declaw until less than three weeks ago when he met Dave Weisman of the DAX Foundation. All of a sudden Boks does a 180 on the issue and now feels declawing is "humane and necessary." He states the alternative to declaw is death which is not true. The alternatives to declaw are nail caps, nail trims, cat training, human training and more. I believe Boks is lobbying against the declaw ban for compensation or promise of compensation of some sort. Nothing else would explain the quick 180 on the issue.

And FTR Boks has been in animal control since 1998 minus three years. He's been in animal control maybe ten years, not 30 as he states.

I received permission to post this public video of a public meeting.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• ed boks
• edward boks
• declaw
• cat
• dax foundation
• dave weisman
• feline
• declawing
• los angeles
• new york
• santa monica
• beverly hills

[MaryCummins]

HollywoodJinky is right. Death is not the only alternative to declaw. There is training of cat/owner, soft paws, scratchy trees/mats, nail trimming... I have a cat that will claw me if I touch his belly. I just don't touch his belly. Problem solved. The rest use scratchy trees. I have 2 cats someone else declawed. They still clawed the furniture. I taught them to use scratchy tree in 2 days. Declawing was unnecessary, and caused other behavioral issues which are worse than clawing furniture

[MaryCummins]

This is Boks "GM Statement" which he wrote.

"Cosmetic Surgery on Animals:

LAAS is against any unnecessary surgical procedure on animals when such a procedure is

performed solely for the convenience or pleasure of the animals owner. This includes

declawing cats, cropping ears, and docking tails. If a veterinarian feels that any of the

above need to be performed for the safety or health of the animal then the procedure

must be performed in the most humane manner possible."

[MaryCummins]

I worked for Ed Boks for a year. He was ALWAYS against declaw until two weeks ago. There are still blog posts of his which state he is against declawing. He used to support Dr. Conrad on this issue.

Now since he net Dave Weisman he is FOR declawing? Looks like he's being paid to lobby against animals.

EdBuckDog, are you Ed Boks? You are his same age, live in the same city and are supporting him. NO ONE supports Boks, except Ed Boks himself.

[blakkat31]

Ed Boks needs the ends of his fingers amputated. Anyone that listens to his "knowledge" of animal issues is being misled.

[hollywoodjinky]

Also, allowing people to think it is ok to mutilate their cats' paws offers them a moral crutch to value their furniture more than their pet. Anyone who would dump their family pet because he or she is clawing at the couch is the same kind of person who needs to be told "NO" by a veterinarian. "No, it's against the law and you need to train your cat or use 'soft paws', which is an excellent product for stubborn kitties." What is needed, is education. Boks' argument is poor.

[PrettySailorSoldier]

..............people who would declaw their cat, even after education of the pain & risk that would be experienced by the cat........ or who would abandon their cat if they couldn't have it declawed... should not own a cat. there are other options... such as getting tips installed to the cat's claws. to control the unwanted cat population, all cats should be spayed/neutered by law. and only registered breeders should be allowed to breed cats. and they should have a quota... like in hunting.

[Neolia83]

he's really just saying its better to not ban the declawing and have less cats turned into the shelter and being put down.. he's not trying to say he thinks its good to have the cat declawed..

[twocentsCanada]

Was there also a mandatory spay/neuter ordinance that contributed to cat abandonment?

[xujiaen1]

If you worry your cat will kill your wife, don't get a cat then!!! Simple question, where is your brain???

[anxresi]

People who would be willing to have a cat under the proviso that they be declawed don't deserve such a beautiful animal in the first place. The mere thought of it sickens me, and all it's proponents should be ashamed.

[Dietje56]

As this man is for declawing cats than I have no problems that his fingers get amputated. In at least 38 countries all over the world banned and you get punished as you let your cat declawing

[midnightrites]

He is talking as if he was a success of any kind. Simple maths seems beyond hi, since if no declaw botch hjobs are given in to shelters, there are LESS cats. In no way does declawing save a life. If you can't handle weekly cliping of claws, a cat is not for you.

THey love citing what vets SHOULD be doing - if vets actually did that you would not ever find a spay & declaw package, which is how most are declawed.

roblem with claws isn't the cat or claws - it;s the owner.

[WinterHaven]

Why is he calling spay/neutering mutilation? I sure in hell don't want a thousand friggin cats around. Cats breed like cockroaches. Does this man have some kind of sex problem? I got my two cats spay and neutered as soon as I could. They are perfectly healthy and happy, and if I didn't get them spay/neutered I would have gotten rid of them a long long time ago in the pound. He's a nut job if he doesn't support spay/neutering.

[WinterHaven]

I'm against declawing cats. But in many instances people WILL get rid of their cats if they don't get declawed. I own two cats, but they are not declawed. But I clip my kitty's front claws weekly, and I have no problems with them scratching my furniture. I have designated areas for scratching, which I make a tea out of catnip and spray on those scratch posts twice a week. If my cats take a liking to the couch, I gently mist them with plain water. That stops that activity quickly.

[AnimalActivism]

What a douche bag! This guy works for Dave Weisman of DAX. They're being paid to speak FOR torturing cats. They obviously hate animals. Their arguments are weak and make no sense. It's never declaw or death. It's declaw or training or nail caps or nail trims. You don't lop off a body part because it offends you. What will you do when the cat starts biting? Remove his teeth? What about when he starts pooping outside the box? What body part will you lop off then?