The main intent of the Joumal has been to provide a place of publication for papers covering technical aspects of animal welfare and, in particular, to publish accounts of unique field material which might not otherwise be formally reported.

Zebra finches are often housed in monogamous pairs in small barren cages. In the present study it was investigated whether modest enrichment resulted in behavioural changes. Four plywood box cages of two different lengths were compared. A small and a large cage were used for the barren environment. Another small and large cage were used for the enriched environment, and included additional perches, twigs as well as sand and water baths. An ethogram consisting of 19 different behavioural patterns was used. The behaviour of the birds was studied using a combination of alternating (20s) one-zero and instantaneous sampling, one hour per day during a continuous four-week period.

Locomotor activity, vocalization and singing was significantly increased in the enriched cages and flying was more frequent in the large enriched cage than in any of the other cages. The study demonstrated the usefulness of behavioural analyses to determine to what extent simple enrichment allows the birds to exhibit a wider range of their natural behaviour.

Recently, the method by which Japanese and Norwegian whalers kill minke whales has come under scrutiny on welfare grounds. Whales are still caught with a grenade tipped harpoon fired from a cannon. The harpoon is targeted to strike the animal in the thorax, though the pattern of harpoon strikes is variable and some can even be struck in the tail. Once the whale is harpooned, it is winched to the ship and if not dead, attempts are made to kill it either by electrocution or with rifles. Some studies indicate that less than 30 per cent of animals are killed instantaneously, though best practice can achieve 50 per cent of animals killed instantaneously but with wounded animals surviving for up to one hour. To kill any wild animal humanely, immediate insensibility must be induced. Whilst in principle the methods used on whales could induce immediate insensibility, there are indications that neither harpooning nor the secondary killing processes, like electrocution or rifle bullets, are achieving this in an acceptable proportion of the animals taken. Comparison of the killing processes used on minke whales with killing processes used on other animals, indicated that there are several areas where improvements could increase the proportion of whales killed instantaneously and reduce the suffering of wounded animals. Whilst harpooning may remain the favoured method of taking whales, and some improvements have been made in the number of whales killed instantaneously, the equipment has evolved little from that originally developed by the Norwegians in the Nineteenth Century. As currently practised few people would consider the current methods employed by the whaling industry to be humane.

A haulage company, transporting pigs for a marketing group, has monitored information about journeys and kept records of deaths in transit (DIT). These data can be used to set guidelines and they highlight those areas of pig transport that need further study.

Factors, other than genetic ones, which may contribute to the rate of DIT were considered. A strict seasonal effect was not apparent, but where conditions were hot and wet there was an increase in DIT. There was also a ‘time of day” effect, with transport in the afternoon showing a higher rate of DIT than transport in the morning. It was observed that if pigs were deemed dirty at loading then DIT were more likely. Clean pigs at loading could indicate that hygienic and environmental conditions in the finishing stage were good. Individual producers showed a wide variation in their rate of DIT, with some producers regularly experiencing a high level Routine monitoring of the rate of DIT and transport conditions could help to pinpoint the source, and possible cause, of the problem.

Information that helps in the understanding of transit deaths is important because if stress in the period from selection to slaughter can be reduced, there should be both economic as well as welfare benefits.

The welfare of caged laying hens could be improved by placing objects in the feed trough. Such objects might (a) simulate general ground-litter thus promoting more normal foraging activity and (b) give hens the opportunity to work ‘for feed - a behaviour usually thwarted in conventional cages. Spherical objects with various characteristics were placed in the feed trough of a tier of caged laying hens (n = 16). The hens pecked frequently at the objects, moving them to the trough space of adjacent cages. The mean proportion of hen heads over the trough containing these objects was significantly greater than before the objects were present (35.3 cf 32.9%) and significantly greater than the proportion of heads over a similar trough containing no objects (33.6%). Thirty days later, the mean proportions were still significantly different (33.5 cf 31.0%) showing that there was little habituation. Daily manual scattering of the objects increased the distance they were subsequently moved by the hens (23.0 cf 19.3 cm/day) indicating increased pecking activity. In a second study 12 hens were given a choice of feeding from troughs containing 0, 12 or 36 spherical objects. There was no overall preference to feed from any of the troughs. All the hens fed from troughs containing the objects, possibly indicating that the opportunity to move the objects and forage or work for feed was desired on occasions. Brightly coloured spherical objects are considered to be a promising method of successful environmental enrichment for caged laying hens. Their use to improve the welfare of caged laying hens appears to be practical and reasonably inexpensive.

The resting behaviour of 64 groups of sheep was observed in the lairages of two slaughterhouses after transport for about four hours in a commercial livestock transporter. The sheep were scanned at five minute intervals for the initial three hours in the lairage pen. The median percentage of time spent lying per group was 17 per cent (range 1 to 63). The percentage of time spent lying was not significantly related to the duration of transport, time of arrival or slaughterhouse. There was a significant positive relationship between space allowance (range 0.22 to 0.98 m2 per sheep) and percentage of time spent lying per group (P < 0.001). Increased space allowance also tended to be associated with a decrease in the occurrence of all interactions between the sheep (P = 0.05). Groups penned with two unfamiliar groups tended to spend less time lying than those penned on their own or with one other group (P = 0.07). There was no significant difference in the total percentage of time spent lying by groups penned on slats and those penned on straw. The results indicated that the ability of sheep to rest in the lairage may be compromised by providing low space allowances.

In 1989 Britain's leading game shooting organizations joined forces to produce the Code of Good Shooting Practice. Its purpose was to set out an agreed standard to which shooters should adhere. Amongst the many issues addressed in the Code was that of the release of hand-reared game birds, but little was said about the actual rearing of the birds themselves. This omission has now largely been remedied through the publication of The Code of Good Game Rearing Practice by The British Association for Shooting and Conservation, The British Field Sports Society, The Game Conservancy Trust and the Game Farmers Association. This small booklet covers the care, husbandry, handling and health of game birds being reared for subsequent release into the wild. It is essentially a series of guidelines based on the principle that ‘Game husbandry shall be conducted with all due consideration for the health and welfare of the birds concerned’.

In April 1994 the Australian and New Zealand Council for the Care of Animals in Research and Teaching (ANZCCART) held a conference at the School of Medicine, Christchurch (NZ) on ‘Animal Welfare in the Twenty-First Century: Ethical, Educational and Scientific Challenges’. The proceedings volume, containing the printed texts of the papers given at this important meeting, has now been published. The subjects covered ranged from ‘Ethical challenges’ (one paper), through ‘Educational challenges’ (seven papers), Scientific challenges (five papers), Challenges posed by the three Rs’ (five papers) to Protecting the New Zealand Environment - vertebrate pest control’. For details of some of the paper titles see the notice on page 2.

In 1987 the Australian Council for the Care of Animals in Research and Teaching (ACCART) was established as a result of increased awareness within the research and teaching communities of the distinctive issues that relate to use of animals in these fields. It changed its name to Australian and New Zealand Council for the Care of Animals in Research and Teaching (ANZCCART) on 1st January 1993, following the decision by the Royal Society of New Zealand to join and to represent a consortium of New Zealand organizations.

The Wisconsin Regional Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, has just published the second edition of the International Directory of Primatology. The purpose of the directory is to enhance communications among organizations and individuals involved in primate research, conservation and education. It can be used by primatologists as a desktop working tool or by guidance counsellors, educators, librarians, students and the general public as a guide to primate programmes and information resources.

The literature available to schools on animal experimentation in the biomedical sciences has increased both in quantity and quality over the last few years. Organizations which support animal experimentation and the animal welfare/anti-vivisectionist societies have put much effort into preparing clear and attractive, well-argued booklets on the cases for and against the use of animals for scientific purposes.

Bovine Somatotropin (BST) is a synthetic growth hormone that can increase milk yield in dairy cows by between 10 and 20 per cent. BST was approved for commercial use in the United States last year, where reaction from consumers, farmers and retailers to the use of the drug has been cool. For several years pharmaceutical companies have been testing and seeking official authorization to market BST in the European Union (EU). However, its introduction has been resisted by many farmers and most consumers because of concern for the health and welfare of the cows, the health of consumers and the possible effects on the economic viability of the small dairy farm. The use of BST does increase the milk yield but it also seems to be associated with a higher level of mastitis. It has also been suggested that the use of the hormone may also result in an increased incidence of anaemia, digestive disorders, enlarged hocks and lesions of the knees.

The New Zealand Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (AWAC) has issued a further set* of Codes of Recommendation for the welfare of: animals at the time of slaughter, farmed pigs, exhibition animals and animals transported within New Zealand.

This volume has been published from a workshop held by the Society for Companion Animal Studies (SCAS), which brought together researchers and potential researchers from differing technical backgrounds. It should be remembered that not all research is carried out in Universities or Research Institutes where experience and support exists for the aspiring worker. In some cases - and this is especially true in companion animal studies - prospective investigators, coming from non-scientific or pemaps clinical or professional backgrounds, discover an issue that clearly needs to be researched and wish to pursue this research themselves.

This volume has been published from a workshop held by the Society for Companion Animal Studies (SCAS), which brought together researchers and potential researchers from differing technical backgrounds. It should be remembered that not all research is carried out in Universities or Research Institutes where experience and support exists for the aspiring worker. In some cases - and this is especially true in companion animal studies - prospective investigators, coming from non-scientific or perhaps clinical or professional backgrounds, discover an issue that clearly needs to be researched and wish to pursue this research themselves.