The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (Appropriate Methods of Killing) Order 1996 came into force in the UK on 1st March 1997. This sets out a revised Schedule 1 to the 1986 Act concerning appropriate methods of humane killing. To accompany this 1996 Order, the Home Office has issued a Code of Practice as guidance to the amended Schedule 1 (which is included in the Code of Practice as an appendix). The approved methods of killing laboratory animals are those which are used to kill animals at designated establishments for scientific purposes (other methods of killing, should there be a requirement for them, can only be used under licence from the Home Office). The revised Schedule 1 lists approved killing methods and secondary procedures which ensure that the animal is dead. These include the following: confirmation of permanent cessation of the circulation, destruction of the brain, dislocation of the neck, exsanguination, confirming the onset of rigor mortis or (after confirming that the animal is insensitive) instantaneous destruction of the body in a macerator.

This Report, which reviews current scientific evidence on the welfare of laying hens under various systems of housing, was presented to the European Council in autumn 1996 by Mr F Fischler, the Commissioner for Agriculture. It was prepared by an international panel of experts under the chairmanship of Dr H K Blokhuis of the Netherlands and was approved by the Scientific Veterinary Committee of the European Commission. It is an update of a 1992 report produced under Article 9 of Council Directive 88/166/EEC (on minimum standards for the protection of laying hens) but on which no action was taken at the time.

This is the nineteenth in a series of guidelines, produced by the New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture, on animal welfare issues. It is well laid out, easy to understand and follows a logical progression from a general introduction, through the principles and methods of killing, to special requirements for emergency slaughter.

These Codes of Recommendations are a practical guide for those involved in animal production in New Zealand and are intended to encourage the adoption of the highest standards of animal husbandry. Written by working groups of the New Zealand Animal Welfare Advisory Committee, the Codes are based on the familiar ‘five freedoms’ and complement the New Zealand legislation by outlining to the informed general public the minimum welfare standards which are currently acceptable.

Primate Care is a guide for those who either keep or plan to keep primates in their care. As the authors point out in the introduction, primates generally do not make good pets. They are wild animals, and as such can be aggressive, destructive and even dangerous. Indeed, in the UK it is necessary to have a licence under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act in order to keep any monkeys other than marmosets as pets. However, if monkeys are to be kept as pets then their owners should be both forewarned of the difficulties and have access to information on good housing and care. The handbook certainly warns of the problems, and is a source of easily accessible basic information. It includes chapters on New and Old World primates, housing, enrichment, reproduction, nutrition, health and socialization. It also provides a useful address list of suppliers of information, enrichment devices and diets. The layout is friendly and varied, with abundant illustrations. This is a publication that will be useful for shelters that take primates, those who keep primates as pets, and might find a place on the bookshelves of the laboratory animal technician.

The new space allowances for weaners and rearers specified by Schedule 3 of the Welfare of Livestock Regulations 1994 (implementing EC Directive 91/630) come into force in the UK on 1 January 1998. The Welfare of Livestock Regulations 1994 also include the ban on close confinement stalls and tethers which come into effect on 1 January 1999. In answer to requests from pig producers, the Agriculture Departments of England, Scotland and Wales have produced guidelines on the enforcement of provisions on space requirements set out in this legislation.

Over recent years there has been growing concern about the potential detrimental effects of underwater man-made noise on marine wildlife. This report, produced by the Sea Watch Foundation, is concerned with the sounds emitted by airguns used in seismic survey operations to find oil and gas deposits below the seabed. Sound source levels of airguns are generally greatest at the lower frequencies (50-140Hz) although the report also describes work which found significant levels of energy at much higher frequencies (1-20kHz) closer to the source.

In January 1995 the Nuffield Council on Bioethics set up a working party which produced a well-balanced report in March 1996 entitled Animal-to-Human Transplants: the Ethics of Xenotransplantation. In September 1995, the Government set up its own advisory group which has now produced its own report and this has been published together with the Government's response to the issue. There are many areas of agreement between the two reports but they do differ in emphasis and coverage of various topics. Significantly, both agree that protection under The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 for animals bred for xenotransplantation purposes needs to be extended. Together, the two reports provide an extremely detailed investigation into the controversial issues involved in xenotransplantation.

Working donkeys in Ethiopia often receive poor treatment and, consequently, their lives are unnecessarily hard and short. This children's book is an imaginative way of addressing the problem of inadequate owner education.

This report covers the welfare of farmed salmon and trout with some brief references to carp. The report is the published findings of a study carried out by the Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC) to provide advice to Ministers on the development of a Council of Europe Recommendation about the welfare of farmed fish.

In April this year the Standing Committee of the European Convention for the Protection of Animals kept for Farming Purposes adopted a Recommendation (a 15 page document) on the management of farmed ratites (ostriches, emus and rheas). In accordance with Article 9 of the Convention, the Recommendation will enter into force on 22 October 1997. Twenty-four Articles covering a variety of subjects: general provisions, biological characteristics of ratites, stockmanship and inspection, enclosures, buildings and equipment, management, changes in phenotype or genotype, killing and arrangements for review of the Recommendation. Appendices are included which cover topics to be included in the training of ratite farmers, technical details for the catching and handling of ratites, general provisions for ostriches, emus and rheas, and guidelines for size of bedding or fodder chop.

As the editors of this recently-published proceedings point out in their introduction ‘The practice of controlling animals perceived as threats to human or environmental interests is uniquely placed on an intersection of various ethical, scientific, economic, social and conservation issues.’ There are many complex, practical and ethical dilemmas in controlling pests. For a start, there is no simple definition of what is and is not a pest. Perspectives and opinions also vary widely on the subject. Incidentally, with the human population of the world at over 5.5 billion and bearing in mind the damage which humans can do to the interests and viability of many other species, who best deserves the label ‘pest’ is an interesting point.