Assembly BillIntroduced
A 796: Prohibits the declawing and descenting of ferrets except when necessary for a therapeutic purpose and performed by a licensed veterinarian.
What A 796 does, verified January 8, 2026
The proposed law aims to protect ferrets in New York by prohibiting the declawing and descenting of ferrets for non-therapeutic purposes. A ferret is defined as the domestic species Mustela furo, and specific procedures include declawing (removing or preventing claw function) and descenting (surgical removal of anal glands). The law states that these procedures can only be performed by a licensed veterinarian for therapeutic purposes, such as addressing physical medical conditions in the ferret's health. Violators of the law may face a civil penalty of up to $1,000. The law takes effect immediately.
Bill journey
1IntroducedCurrent
2In CommitteePending
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: referred to codes (2026-01-07)Alert me
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions4 total · showing 4
| Jan. 07, 2026 | referred to codes |
| May. 28, 2025 | reported referred to rules |
| May. 20, 2025 | reported referred to codes |
| Jan. 08, 2025 | referred to agriculture |
Latest bill textIntroduced version, January 8, 2025 · 369 words
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 796 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Agriculture AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to prohib- iting the declawing and descenting of ferrets The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The agriculture and markets law is amended by adding a new 2 section 387 to read as follows: 3 § 387. Prohibition of the declawing and descenting of ferrets. 1. For 4 the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the follow- 5 ing meanings: 6 (a) "Ferret" shall mean the domestic species Mustela furo. 7 (b) "Declawing" shall mean a procedure, such as an onychectomy, tendo- 8 nectomy or phalangectomy, to remove or prevent the normal function of 9 the claws of a ferret. 10 (c) "Descenting" shall mean a procedure involving the surgical removal 11 or destruction of the anal glands of a ferret. 12 (d) "Therapeutic purpose" shall mean the necessity to address the 13 physical medical condition of a ferret, such as an existing or recurring 14 illness, infection, disease, injury or abnormal condition in the claw or 15 anal glands that compromises such ferret's health. Therapeutic purpose 16 shall not include cosmetic or aesthetic reasons or reasons of conven- 17 ience in keeping or handling such ferret. 18 2. No person shall perform a declawing or a descenting procedure by 19 any means on a ferret within the state of New York, except when neces- 20 sary for a therapeutic purpose and performed by a licensed veterinarian. 21 3. Any person who performs a declawing or descenting procedure on any 22 ferret in the state of New York in violation of the provisions of subdi- 23 vision two of this section shall be punishable by a civil penalty not to 24 exceed one thousand dollars. 25 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD02680-01-5
Text of A 796 as introduced, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions