On 1 January 2000, New Zealand's new animal welfare legislation - the Animal Welfare Act 1999 - came into force. The Act itself, with its accompanying schedules, is 121 pages of, to the non-legal eye, somewhat dense and demanding text. Fortunately, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has published a useful accompanying guide (see below for details) which helps to introduce the Act and explain its rationale, scope and layout. The Act, so the guide tells us, ‘is a clear statement to New Zealanders and the rest of the world that animals in New Zealand have a right to expect proper and sufficient care’.