Cat Declawing Documentary Premieres At Hot Docs Pageant

EXCLUSIVE: As we all know, cats rule the web. Countless pictures and movies are circulating on-line—maybe upwards of 10 billion of them, in keeping with one tough estimate. For occasion, Puff, a rag doll cat who stars in cooking movies, has greater than 60 million followers throughout social media platforms.

American Cats: The Good, The Bad & The Cuddly, a documentary premiering on the Hot Docs movie competition this weekend, explores our love of the lovable quadrupeds. But beneath the movie’s furry exterior lurks a extra severe message: given our collective love of felines, why are we subjecting them to painful and pointless surgical procedures?

The reply: $$

In the unique trailer above, the movie’s host Amy Hoggart (Full Frontal with Samantha Bee), asks the next: “How much money is there in declawing cats?” The reply from Dr. Jennifer Conrad, veterinarian: “Some estimations are is that it’s a billion dollars a year business.”

The movie is directed by Todd Bieber, Emmy-nominated supervising producer-director of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee and produced by Grace Leeson, additionally a Full Frontal veteran. It options the participation of Dr. Conrad, founding father of the Paw Project, described as “the world’s largest nonprofit entirely dedicated to ending the cruel practice of declawing.”

The Humane Society of the United States says, “Declawing is the amputation of the last bone of each toe on a cat’s paw,” including, “It would be like cutting off your finger at the last knuckle.” The ASPCA, in the meantime, declares it’s “strongly opposed to declawing cats.”

“Through interviews with veterinarians, activists, and pet owners, the documentary unveils a powerful industry lobby that not only promotes but profits from this inhumane procedure,” notes a synopsis of American Cats. “As Hoggart navigates the maze of misinformation, she discovers the profound physical and psychological effects declawing has on our feline friends. American Cats is a thought-provoking exposé that challenges the ethical implications of our choices and calls for a nationwide reflection on our treatment of animals. And also lots of jokes and cute kittens.”

In the lovable kitten division, the documentary features a particular look by Nala, an adopted feline often called “Instagram’s Most Famous Cat!” She’s so famend she has her personal emblem.

In a director’s assertion, Bieber stated, “I like cats. I’ve all the time liked cats. I grew up on a six technology household farm in Pennsylvania, and strangers would secretly drop off pregnant cats at our farm as a result of they knew we’d maintain them. I used to be answerable for naming the kittens (a self appointed position).

“Many, many years later, I met Dr. Jennifer Conrad and she introduced me to this really complicated and shocking story about cat declawing.  She has been trying to get declawing outlawed for over 20 years.”

For Hoggart, collaborating within the movie grew to become a studying alternative. “Being from the U.K., I had no idea what declawing is,” she stated. “I was truly flabbergasted and horrified to learn what it is and why it’s popular. Honestly, it made me initially really disgusted by a lot of cat owners in America. But after learning more about declawing, I began to realize that most cat owners in America actually don’t know the truth about declawing. It’s all just so sinister and people are really in the dark. So part of why I wanted to do this film was to educate people and try to stop this barbaric practice.”

According to data from the filmmakers, “New York and Maryland are the only states that ban declawing without loopholes. Declawing is illegal is many U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Madison, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Tacoma, and Washington, DC.” In 2004, West Hollywood’s metropolis council banned declawing, making it the primary American metropolis to ban the process.

American Cats: The Good, The Bad & The Cuddly premieres on Sunday morning at Hot Docs, the distinguished nonfiction movie competition in Toronto, Ontario. (We perceive cat declawing is outlawed in all Canadian provinces, besides Ontario). Following the Sunday screening on the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, the documentary will display once more on Monday night time on the TIFF Lightbox venue.

Watch the trailer for American Cats: The Good, The Bad & The Cuddly above.