In July of last year (2016) the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) released ‘Guidelines for the Humane Slaughter of Animals: 2016 Edition’. The species covered are hoofed stock (cattle, bison, horses, mules, sheep, goats, swine, deer and elk), poultry (chickens, turkeys, pheasants, ratites, geese and ducks), fish (farmed and commercially caught wild fish), rabbits and alligators. The guidelines are provided specifically for animals which are reared and slaughtered for human food consumption (estimated by the Humane Society to be 4.6 billion animals annually), and do not include animals raised and killed for their fur, skins or any other product.

A small proportion of greyhounds surplus to the racing industry are entered into specialist re-homing organisations to be re-purposed as pets. Records of 835 greyhounds, from New Zealand Greyhounds as Pets, were used to investigate whether pre-adoption characteristics (age, sex, racing record, reason entered) and management factors (temperament test result, foster and trainer effects) had a bearing on re-homing success, and comparisons were made with shelter studies. Re-homing greyhounds as pets is very successful with 85.5% ultimately successfully re-homed. Only 2.9% fail as a result of failed adoptions and 11.6% fail the initial temperament test and are therefore not considered for adoption. Greyhounds were more likely than shelter dogs to pass an initial temperament test and be adopted, and less likely to be returned after one month. However, adopted greyhounds were just as likely as shelter dogs to be returned after six months. Logistic regression revealed the youngest age group (< 25 months old) were more likely to pass the initial temperament test than older greyhounds. The re-homing success of greyhounds subsequently made available for adoption was not affected by age, but a sex effect was evident with females more likely to be successfully re-homed than males. Whether or not a dog had raced had no significant effect on the likelihood of successful re-homing. Greyhounds passing the temperament test with a basic pass were less likely to be successfully re-homed than greyhounds scoring a higher pass indicative of lower prey drive. Further investigation of the validity and reliability of the temperament test is warranted.

The British Veterinary Zoological Society (BVZS) has recently published ‘Good Practice Guidelines for Wildlife Rehabilitation Centres’. The BVZS note that there is a lack of legislation intended to specifically protect the welfare of injured or displaced indigenous wild animals in the United Kingdom (UK) that may require treatment, rehabilitation and, where appropriate, release. The welfare of wild animals instead falls, to various extents, under a variety of legislative Acts, including: The Animal Welfare Act (2006); The Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981); Zoo Licensing Act (1981); and the Dangerous Wild Animals Act (1976).

Feather-pecking and cannibalism may reduce the potential of organic husbandry to enhance the welfare of laying hens. We report risk factors for these issues based on a large survey of 107 commercial flocks in eight European countries. Information was collected regarding housing, management and flock characteristics (age, genotype). Near the end of lay, 50 hens per flock were assessed for plumage condition and wounds. Potential influencing factors were screened and submitted to a multivariate model. The majority of the flocks (81%) consisted of brown genotypes and were found in six countries. Since white genotypes (19%) were found only in the two Scandinavian countries, a country effect could not be excluded. Therefore, separate models were made for brown and white genotypes. Feather damage in brown hens could be explained by a model containing a lower dietary protein content and no daily access to the free range (30% of the variation explained). For feather damage in white hens, no model could be made. Wounds in brown hens were associated with not having daily access to free range (14% of the variation explained). Wounds in white hens were explained by a model containing not topping-up litter during the laying period (26% of the variation explained). These results suggest that better feeding management, daily access to the free-range area and improved litter management may reduce incidence of plumage damage and associated injurious pecking, hence enhancing the welfare of organic laying hens. Since this was an epidemiological study, further experimental studies are needed to investigate the causal relationships.

Animal Welfare Act 2006. The Act consolidated more than 20 other pieces of legislation and introduced a positive ‘duty of care’ towards animals. However, it did not provide detailed measures to protect animal welfare, but instead offered the means to introduce further, secondary, legislation to address areas of specific welfare concern where considered necessary (such as: riding schools; livery yards; animal [dog and cat] boarding; pet shops; pet fairs; mutilations; tethering horses; animal sanctuaries; greyhounds; and performing animals).