Malibu animal welfare activist, veterinarian and filmmaker Jennifer Conrad, the founder of the Paw Project, a non-profit organization created to educate the public about the painful and crippling effects of feline declawing, promote animal welfare through the abolition of the practice of declaw surgery, and to rehabilitate cats that have been declawed, will be at the Malibu Jewish Center and Synagogue, 24855 PCH, on June 8, at 8 p.m. for a screening of her one-hour documentary film “The Paw Project.”

Doors open at 7:30 p.m. The screening begins at 8 p.m.

The screening will be followed by a Q & A session with Conrad. There will also be an informal reception with a selection of vegan hors d’oeuvres.

Declawing surgery, also called onychectomy—amputating an animal’s toes at the last joint is performed on domestic and exotic cats. The surgery is illegal or considered inhumane in many countries around the world, including more than 12 European nations, Australia and Brazil.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals “does not approve of the declawing of cats as a matter of supposed convenience to cat owners,” according to the Paw Project website. The ASPCA is on record stating that the surgery “is a form of mutilation and it does cause pain.”

According to Conrad, big cats can become crippled by pain from bone fragments, infection and severed tendons from the surgery.

The screening is free, but RSVP is requested: 310-795-6215, or www.pawprojectmovie.com