Bus. & Prof. Code, § 4826.8 · Article 2. Practice Provisions
Bus. & Prof. Code, § 4826.8
Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
(a) An onychectomy, tendonectomy, surgical claw removal, or declaw on any feline or any procedure to otherwise alter a feline’s toes, claws, or paws to prevent or impair the normal function of the feline’s toes, claws, or paws shall be performed solely for a therapeutic purpose.
(b) For purposes of this section, “therapeutic purpose” means a medically necessary procedure to address an existing or recurring infection, disease, injury, or abnormal condition in the claws, nail bed, or toe bone, which jeopardizes the feline’s health. “Therapeutic purpose” does not include a procedure performed for a cosmetic or aesthetic purpose or to make the feline more convenient to keep or handle.
(c) This section shall not prohibit a veterinarian from nail trimming or applying nonsurgical scratching mitigation solutions, such as the application of a device to the tip of a claw.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Added by Stats. 2025, Ch. 479, Sec. 2. (AB 867) Effective January 1, 2026.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
- Official file
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC§ionNum=4826.8.
- Text hash
- sha256 0087053e9d55265f9ce3b21405717c31bce91b1114231514852cb172a0e94d00
- Composed by
- compose_ca.py 2026-10-22: the Legislative Counsel's CAML content files read by a tokenizer (caml_readers.reader_a); an independent xml.etree reading (caml_readers.reader_b) agrees on every section
Cited by 1 provision
Provisions in this library whose text cites Bus. & Prof. Code, § 4826.8. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Business and Professions Code
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