The behaviour of 10 adult individually-caged male cats was measured either in their normal cage or with additional objects, a log and a ball. Each cat was observed during five days in each condition. Results show an important novelty effect at the beginning of observations, especially for rubbing and paddling behaviour. Introduction of objects in the cages resulted in a decrease in inactivity and self-play activities, and an increase in sniffing objects and play behaviours with objects. This was particularly important with the ball. Whereas these modifications decreased over days with the log, a high level of activity was maintained with the ball. The importance of the movement and of the function of the object is discussed. An improved way of rearing isolated cats is suggested.

Twenty-one wapiti calves, born between 24 May and 4 July were weaned on 5 September. They were weighed, divided into two groups (10 and 11 calves) and either moved to a familiar paddock, adjacent to their dams and allowed fence-line contact (contact wean - CW), or moved to a familiar paddock which was visually obscured, and separated from their dams by approximately 50m (remote wean - RW). For the next two days after weaning the calves were observed from dawn until dusk. All observations were done using a 10-minute instantaneous scan sampling technique. Activities recorded included the number of calves standing, walking, lying, fence-line pacing, running, grazing, and feeding at a trough. On day 4 the observation time was reduced to 9 hours and 20 minutes. Observations were continued for a further six days during 2-hour periods after dawn and before dark. The calves were held in these separate paddocks for 10 days and during that time were weighed. After that they were held together in the remote wean paddock and weighed again at 31 and 63 days. There were no significant differences in the amount of time spent grazing between the two groups and there were no differences in weight gains between the groups throughout the trial. The CW calves vocalized less and spent less time standing, walking, fence-line pacing and running compared to RW calves. The CW calves were also observed spending more time lying and feeding at the trough. Overall, the CW calves displayed fewer behaviours indicative of the distress following weaning.

The purpose of this study was to enrich parrot enclosures by creating foraging opportunities appropriate for the species and to investigate the possible preference for a variable versus a constant food supply. The foraging device comprised of a length of wood (2×0.08×0.08m) with 50 holes (0.02m diameter x 0,02m depth) drilled into one face. Food was placed in the holes of the foraging device in one of two distributions: ‘constant’, one food item in every hole (total = 50 food items) or ‘variable’, 5 food items in 10 of the holes (total = 50 food items). The holes were then covered with starch paper. During the enrichment period the parrots spent significantly more time allopreening than in the baseline or post-enrichment periods. The results also provide some evidence of contrafreeloading in parrots, but no preference for a variable over a constant food source. The study shows that providing extra foraging opportunities for parrots is a useful form of enrichment.

The influence of an environmental enrichment programme on the searching behaviour of separate groups of male and female bush dogs at Edinburgh Zoo was evaluated. The enrichment programme involved hiding food in specially constructed wood-piles and other appropriate places in the bush dogs’ enclosures. Behavioural data were recorded morning and afternoon for 20 consecutive experimental days and were compared to pre- and post-enrichment programme data, representing basal conditions. Data were collected over a 10-period for both pre and post enrichment phases. Activities were recorded under seven behavioural categories. There was no significant difference between sexes in the proportion of time spent performing searching behaviour so data were pooled. The enrichment programme appeared to cause an increase (P < 0.01) in searching behaviour from initial basal conditions of 2.7per cent to 6.1 per cent of total recorded data points. There was a subsequent decrease in searching behaviour (P < 0.01) to 2.5 per cent when basal conditions were reinstated. All dogs showed increases in searching behaviour when enrichment and basal data were compared. The effectiveness of the enrichment programme in terms of increasing the proportion of time spent in searching behaviour showed a significant decline (P <0.005) over time, probably relating to the dogs increasing proficiency at finding food. It is suggested that the enhanced levels of searching behaviour represent an improvement in welfare.

During homing contests, racing pigeons (Columba livia) are transported to their release site under crowded conditions. Behaviour and thermogenesis under these conditions were studied in two experiments. In the first experiment, temperature (26 °C or 36 °C) and water availability (access or deprived) had no significant effect on either behaviour or heat production of old male pigeons. However, the frequency of threatening behaviour and the proportion of activity-related heat production in total heat production increased during the 23-hour experimental period, whereas no decrease in aggressive behaviour was found. In the second experiment the effect of testing age (young or old) and sex (male or female) were considered in relation to behaviour and thermogenesis. Young pigeons were more immobile than old pigeons, but heat production was lower in old pigeons. Male groups had a higher activity-related heat production and had more head injuries resulting from pecking than females. Again, no decrease in aggressive behaviour or changes in behaviour patterns over time were found. Body-weight at the start of the experiment was predictive of subsequent behaviour in the crate. A higher body-weight was related to more threatening behaviour, less displacement and less head injuries. The consistent level of aggressive behaviour over time, causing predictable head injuries, indicates that a ‘ceiling effect’ in adaptation is reached under crowded transport conditions. To improve pigeon welfare, serious considerations must be given to transporting racing pigeons under less crowded conditions.

There is a growing awareness that non-human primates kept in zoos and laboratories deserve more species-appropriate stimulation because of their biological adaptation to a challenging environment.

Numerous attempts have been made to effectively emulate the gathering and processing aspects of natural feeding. Whole natural food-items, woodchips mixed with seeds, the puzzle ceiling and the puzzle feeder stocked with ordinary biscuits, cost little or nothing but induce sustained food gathering and/or food processing. Turf and fleece substrates sprinkled with particles of flavoured food, foraging trays, probe feeders and puzzles baited with food treats also promote more foraging behaviour, but they are relatively expensive and require added labour time to load and clean them.

The common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula), introduced from Australia about 150 years ago, has become a major pest threatening the native biota of New Zealand. It is also an important disease vector, acting as a wildlife reservoir of infection. Conventional methods of control have had little effect on reducing the national population, so there is a quest to find more effective and humane methods. This has led to an upsurge in research aimed at increasing our knowledge of the biology of this marsupial, with an attendant increase in requirements for access to colony-housed animals.

Possums kept for research purposes have often been housed in individual cages, and several colonies have experienced high mortality rates. After capture, possums have shown inappetence, weight loss and a predisposition to infection, suggesting that this species is susceptible to post-capture stress. For our reproductive studies, research animals are only useful if maintained under conditions that ensure behavioural and physiological processes remain normal. We have adopted an ‘animal husbandry’ approach for our possum colony, where social interaction and the ability to exhibit instinctive behaviour patterns are considered as important as adequate nutrition and housing.

In this colony, group-housed possums show no signs of post-capture stress, and mortality rate has been less than one per cent (of > 600 animals housed to date). Virtually all possums gain weight over the first month of captivity. Procedures for monitoring, handling and the collection of data from these animals, are carried out with little apparent stress to either animals or staff.

Companion or pet animals are an integral part of many societies. Ownership rates of at least one pet for every two households (50%) have been reported in numerous countries, including the UK (Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association 1996), The Netherlands (Endenburg et al 1990), Poland (Fogle 1994), the USA (Rowan 1992), France (Anon 1995a) and Australia (Anon 1995b). While on one hand the animals gain from their close association with humans by being sheltered, fed and loved, they can also suffer neglect, cruelty, abandonment, unnecessary euthanasia, and may develop behaviour problems. The quality of our relationships with these animals is indeed variable.

This publication addresses many of the welfare and management problems arising from the domestication of the cat. Although we tend to think of the cat as a companion animal, many stray from or are thrown out of their homes, and some may become feral or are born as feral animals.

In the UK an increasing percentage of the pig breeding herd is being kept outdoors. Some surveys have suggested that perhaps 30 to 35 per cent of sows now spend all or a significant part of their year outside. They are usually kept in groups in paddocks containing a number of small moveable huts which have been designed and constructed to accommodate a breeding sow and her litter.

Around 3000 horse-related traffic accidents are reported every year in the UK and although, thankfully, very few human fatalities occur as a result of these accidents the number of horses that are killed runs into hundreds. Many riders do not have access to bridlepaths and private farmland or find that these can only be reached via roads. With increasing numbers of motorists and a growing intolerance of horses on the road the problem is significant.

The early development of bar-gnawing was studied in young gerbils kept in standard laboratory cages. Bar-gnawing was performed on the bars of the cage lid and developed shortly after eye-opening at an age of 18 days. It increased in bout length and duration with age and there was considerable variability in behaviour between individuals. It is discussed as to whether bar-gnawing is a stereotypy and in which behavioural context it develops.

In New Zealand, blood is harvested from horses, cattle, sheep and goats for research (eg preparation of specific antisera) and commercial purposes (eg vaccine production). Due to the country's favourable disease status there is a growing demand from other countries for harvested blood and it is expected that the blood-harvesting industry in New Zealand will grow. These guidelines were drawn up for use by local Animal Ethics Committees in New Zealand in order to safeguard the welfare of animals used for blood-harvesting. The guidelines contain sections on facilities and equipment, bleeding techniques, volume and frequency of bleeding, animal monitoring (including monitoring of packed cell volume) and other aspects of blood-harvesting. It is stated that not more than 15 per cent of estimated circulating blood volume should be removed in any four week period. However, it may be acceptable in some circumstances, with the approval of the institutional Animal Ethics Committee, for up to 25 per cent of estimated circulating blood volume to be removed. The document is required reading for people involved with the blood-harvesting industry in New Zealand but it is also likely to be of interest and value to those involved in similar work elsewhere in the world.

Following long-running disputes between those in favour and those against the hunting of red deer with hounds on the lands it owns, the National Trust (a charity that owns and manages large amounts of land in the UK) commissioned Professor Patrick Bateson, Professor of Ethology and Provost of King's College, Cambridge, to study the welfare aspects of this form of deer hunting. The conclusion of the two-year study, which was scrutinized prior to publication by an independent panel of 14 eminent zoologists and veterinarians (including members nominated by bodies for and against deer hunting), was unambiguous: ‘…The study produced clear-cut scientific results. These show that lengthy hunts with hounds impose extreme stress on red deer and are likely to cause them great suffering. The hunts force them to experience conditions far outside the normal limits for their species…. ‘. In the light of this report, the Council of the National Trust promptly and unanimously agreed on 11th April 1997 to end deer hunting with hounds on the lands it owns.

Since October 1996, Cambridge University's Pig Disease Information Centre (PDIC) has been on-line. The URL (Internet address) of the PDIC web site is http://www-pdic.vet.cam.ac.uk/. From this base, clicking on icons provides round the clock access to many other pig information sites around the world. The PDIC provides information on diseases, breeding and infertility, UK and international news, and it also provides search facilities and discussion pages for vets.

This Report considers the main systems of egg production in the UK (battery cages, deep litter, perchery, aviary and free-range) and makes recommendations for the improvement of hen welfare. On the opening pages, the FAWC Chairman Sir Colin Spedding, in a covering letter to the Agriculture Ministers, introduces the Report and highlights key points. These include the recommendation that Directive 88/166/EEC, which sets the minimum space requirement at 450cm2 per bird, should be amended immediately to require a minimum space of 600cm2 in all battery cages within 5 years. Furthermore, the Council recommends that conventional battery cages should be phased out in the long-term subject to three provisions (a) the UK industry must be protected from unfair competition within the EU (b) imports of eggs and egg products into the EU from countries in which battery cages are still used must be banned and (c) the phasing out of battery cages should not be effected until injurious pecking and cannibalism have been eliminated or successfully controlled.

This is an excellent video. It is designed to be appropriate for the Science National Curriculum, Key Stage 4, and ‘A’ level teaching and it provides a very interesting and clear introduction to the stimulus response behaviour of farm animals (and more). The video has six sections: introduction (five steps in the stimulus response chain and how these are studied); stimuli (visual, heat, tactile, olfactory and internal); receptors; co-ordination (types of learned behaviour, habituation, classic conditioning, trial and error learning and observational learning); effectors, and responses (irritation, internal effectors and responses, stress in a non-stimulating environment, enriched environment, stereotyped behaviour, nesting and foraging behaviour), ending with a summary. This is a good, scientifically rigorous story, well-told and portrayed by a glittering cast of piglets, chickens, sheep, goats and cows. There is no moralizing; the animals ‘speak’ for themselves and the film will be, I suspect, quite a powerful force for animal welfare. An enjoyable piece of work which deserves very wide circulation.

This is a very useful information resource for primatologists. Its production represents a notable international effort. The directory is divided into five main sections and has four indexes. The main sections provide data on organizations, field studies, populationmanagement groups, primate societies, and information resources. There are indexes for organizations, species, subjects, and names of individuals. Three hundred and seven organizations are listed and, for each, data are provided on contact addresses and telecommunication numbers, the mission, research programmes, species supported, key personnel, training opportunities provided, and other aspects. The section on populationmanagement groups lists all the studbook and species programmes and includes a recent ISIS abstract containing data (numbers, sexes, locations) on all the primates kept in ISIS registered zoos and primate centres throughout the world. If you want to know, for example, where and how many Callithrix geoffroyi are maintained in captivity, this is a good place to start. The primate societies section contains the names and addresses of all the members of the International Primate Society and data on 27 other primate societies, including contact names and addresses, and details of their missions and activities. The final main section provides data on various primate information resources: information centres, resources for animal exchange and animal care supplies, details of internet-based information sources (Primatetalk, AskPrimate, and others), primatology web sites, journals and newsletters. The indexes make the directory very easy to use. Although there is much here of relevance to the subject, welfare is, regrettably, not listed as a subject heading in the index. This will be a valuable tool for many primatologists and would-be primatologists, and the price is very reasonable.

In April 1996 the Animal Health Trust, the British Veterinary Association Animal Welfare Foundation and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals held the second of an annual series of joint one-day symposia on welfare problems of food animals and horses, entitled The Economics of Food Animal Welfare.

The UK's Welfare of Animals (Transport) Order 1997 came into force on 1 July 1997. This Order updates and supercedes the Welfare of Animals during Transport Order 1994 and other pieces of UK animal welfare legislation relevant to animal transport, and implements Council Directive 91/628/EEC as amended by Council Directive 95/29/EEC.