The UK's Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC) has issued two Opinions; one covering beak trimming of laying hens and the other, enriched cages for laying hens. Such ‘Opinions’ are a recent edition to the FAWC's methods for advising the Government about areas of animal welfare concern and their aim is to address specific issues in a shorter format and timeframe than traditional FAWC reports. Each Opinion provides a ‘background’ to the chosen focus followed by an ‘evidence’ and then ‘critical issue’ section. A cost/benefit ethical analysis is also included and finally an opinion, detailing the FAWC's advice and recommendations to the Government.

Directive 1999/74/EC recognised three farming methods for rearing laying hens within the European Union (EU): unenriched cages, enriched cages and alternative systems. The Directive came into force in July 1999 with the aim of protecting laying hen welfare by setting out a core set of minimum standards. Article 10 of these regulations required the European Commission (EC) to submit to the Council a report based on scientific opinion and covering the various rearing systems for laying hens, taking into account pathological, zootechnical, physiological and ethological aspects as well as environmental and health impacts. The report was also required to incorporate the socio-economic implications of the various systems and their effects on the European Communities economic partners.

A regulation banning the production, marketing, import and export of both dog and cat fur throughout the European Union (EU) was approved in December 2007 and will apply from December 2008. Over recent years European consumers have increasingly raised strong objections to both the farming of dogs and cats for their fur and to the possibility that they may unknowingly purchase unlabelled products made from dog or cat fur. Consequently, 15 member states brought legislation into force, at a national level, to address consumer concerns including: prohibiting the rearing of cats and dogs for fur purposes, banning the production and/or import of products containing cat or dog fur and instigating specific labelling requirements. It was thought that variations between national laws would be likely to hamper the free movement

Leg-hold traps are metal devices with sprung jaws designed to catch and hold an animal by a limb when triggered. They can be used legally in New Zealand to trap possums, ferrets, stoats and feral cats. The humaneness of leg-hold traps has been questioned, however, with regard to the degree of injury and distress caused to trapped animals, the possibility of trapped animals escaping in an injured state and the suffering that may be experienced by animals whilst held in traps. There are also concerns that non-target, domestic or endangered animals may be caught and injured.