devocalization AmE , auch: devocalisation BrE

The devocalization procedure does not take away a dog's ability to bark.

As such, devocalization should generally be considered only as a last resort.

By law, convenience devocalization is considered a form of surgical mutilation.

Star said of convenience devocalization: "To take a voice away from an animal is morally wrong."

The legality of convenience devocalization varies by jurisdiction.

Devocalization is usually performed at the request of an animal owner (where the procedure is legally permitted).

All devocalization procedures require general anesthesia.

Legislation to ban devocalization of dogs and cats in New York State is underway.

Gaughan also counts "breeders with many dogs" among those who most often seek convenience devocalization.

Some owners struggling to deal with this problem resort to devocalization, a controversial practice considered cruel by animal advocates and outlawed in many countries.

Multiple animal medicine and animal welfare organizations discourage the use of convenience devocalization, recommending that it only be used as a last resort.

In some regions such as in certain parts of the USA and UK, convenience devocalization is considered a form of surgical mutilation.

In the United States, devocalization is illegal in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Warwick, Rhode Island.

In February 2009, 15-year-old Jordan Star of Needham, Massachusetts, filed a bill to outlaw performing convenience devocalization procedures upon cats and dogs.

The American Veterinary Medical Association's official position states that "canine devocalization should only be performed by qualified, licensed veterinarians as a final alternative after behavioral modification efforts to correct excessive vocalization have failed."

However, organizations such as the American Veterinary Medical Association, American Animal Hospital Association and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, oppose laws that would make devocalization illegal.

Devocalization (also known as ventriculocordectomy or vocal cordectomy and when performed on dogs is commonly known as debarking or bark softening) is a surgical procedure applied to dogs and cats, where tissue is removed from the animal's vocal cords to permanently reduce the volume of their vocalizations.