In New Zealand the law states that no person can conduct any scientific research or use animals in teaching, other than in accordance with a code of ethical conduct drawn up by his or her research institute. The code must be approved by the Minister of Agriculture and one of the main requirements is that the institute must establish an Animal Ethics Committee to oversee the use of animals within that Institute. In effect animal experimentation in New Zealand is controlled by ‘statutory’ local animal ethical committees. This is in contrast with the UK situation where statutory control is centrally organized by the Home Office using the powers conferred on it by the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. It is possible that the standards set in the two countries are very similar but are arrived at by different legal/administrative processes.