Black Sabbath’s Geezer Butler Calls for Ban on Cat Declawing in N.Y.

A bill to ban the declawing of cats in New York state has gained support from a well known personality from the rock world.

Black Sabbath bassist Terry"Geezer" Butler has lent his support to a bill, reintroduced in January by assemblyperson Linda Rosenthal, that would ban cat declawing in the state. If passed, New York would be the first state in the United States to ban the practice.

Cat declawing is already illegal in England, Austria, Israel, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Norway, Ireland, as well as a number of other countries.

Butler said the following in a statement released through The Humane Society of the United States:

New York is one of Black Sabbath's favorite states to perform in because New Yorkers are smart, open-minded, and compassionate.

I am particularly delighted to be coming back to the Empire State after learning from my friends at The Humane Society of the United States that there is a bill before lawmakers that, if passed, would ban the practice of declawing cats.

My wife and I have many rescued cats and we have never dreamed of putting them through an elective, convenience surgery such as declawing.

Butler is a known cat lover, and has spoken out before on the behalf of felines right here in New York state. In May of 2014, Butler offered $1,000 for any sort of information that would lead to the arrest of a suspected cat killer in Yonkers. Twenty-five cats were found dead in Yonkers in April 2014, with some of them stuffed in bags and then hung by trees.

In November 2014, Rene Carcamo was arrested and charged for the gruesome killings.

Black Sabbath will perform at Madison Square Garden on Thursday.