Two colour VHS videos have been produced by Datascope Communications in conjunction with Glaxo Group Research and the Institute of Animal Technology.

This project, by the Centaur Press, has been initiated in order to publish books which trace the connection between our often lamentable behaviour towards each other and our thoughtless and cruel exploitation of non-human species. There is, seemingly, a demand from those concerned about human and animal suffering for new books by contemporary authors, and for the re-issue of long-unobtainable works of special merit on the philosophy, politics and social implications of man's use or misuse of animals.

There is currently a great deal of published research and information on the ways in which captive environments of non-human primates could be improved. This material is widely dispersed throughout the scientific literature so it is particularly helpful that the United States Department of Agriculture has published a valuable source of information on this subject. The booklet is comprehensive and not only provides an invaluable classified bibliography but also has an author index, a list of organizations which can provide information on non-human primates, how they can be contacted and details about their activities. There is a useful list of journals which publish information on primates - although unfortunately Animal Welfare is omitted despite a number of its papers being included in the reference list.

There has long been a need for a readily accessible source of statistics on the animals used and, at times, misused by man. This need has now largely been met by a pocketbook by Barry Kew and published by Green Print, which is packed with facts, charts and tables. The information is grouped into eight sections: country sports, farmed animals, fisheries, fur farming, performing animals, companion animals, animal experimentation and zoos. There are a number of appendices: illegal cruelty, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, export-import, UK exotics, camelids, snails, laws, and death toll, as well as a glossary, references and a bibliography.

Sir, I write in response to the article in the first issue of your journal. I was pleased to note that the welfare advantages of improved accuracy of shooting that can be expected from the restraint of bovine heads prior to stunning have been recognised. Earlier research work, commissioned by the MAFF, had indicated that deficiencies existed in the accuracy of captive bolt positioning in cattle whose heads had not been restrained. Clearly the distress experienced by an animal that has been mis-stunned would be very considerable, and would outweigh the stress associated with temporary head-restraint.

Sir, In welcoming the first number of Animal Welfare, I am glad to note that the contents cover a wide subject range, which is a good augury of the journal's breadth of interest. In particular Professor Odberg's paper was very well-balanced, knowledgeable and thoughtful, but also unequivocal in pointing the way forward in controlling the welfare of the corrida.