Wolfensohn Sarah, Honess Paul, ,Handbook of Primate Husbandry and Welfare (2005) Blackwell...
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apart from the proportions it occupies in carcasses, is re- garded as somewhat of an unimportant area in consider- ations of farm animal growth, ignoring the fact that without its correct formation and functioning animals could not produce ultimately carcasses and other products acceptable for human use. The much tangled effects of growth hormone, insulin-like growth factors and their binding proteins on these latter major tissues are nicely teased out but leave the reader in no doubt of the need for further work to clarify completely this immensely com- plex area. Further chapters on catecholamines, b-agonists and other repartitioning agents and steroids, together with a chapter on the very topical but still uncertain role of lep- tin in controlling body composition and appetite, com- plete a book which has clear figurative material, is on the whole nicely presented and therefore easy to follow and read. No references are given in the text but at the end of each chapter a concise germane bibliography is presented. A very minor criticism is that in a few tables the abbre- viations used are not clearly explained in footnotes to the tables themselves and whilst a further edition might include considerations of the hormonal control of mammary and integument tissue growth there can be no doubt that the book as it stands is an essential addition to the libraries of all who are concerned at an advanced level with farm animal growth. Tony Lawrence Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Liverpool, Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Neston, CH64 7TE, UK doi:10.1016/j.tvjl.2006.01.007 Sarah Wolfensohn, Paul Honess, Handbook of Primate Husbandry and Welfare, Blackwell Publishing, ISBN 1- 4051-1159-3, pp. 168, £36.50 (soft) The Handbook of Primate Husbandry and Welfare is de- scribed on its back cover as a practical field manual that ‘provides a completely comprehensive guide to good hus- bandry and management of primates’, and ‘covers all as- pects of primate care and management both in the laboratory environment and it in zoos.’ This is a tall order for a relatively small paperback and I was keen to find out how the authors tackled this task. The book is divided into nine chapters covering primate characteristics and relationship with man, the physical environment, staff management and health and safety, nutrition, physical well-being, psychological well-being, training of primates, and finally sourcing and transporting primates. Chapters are well-structured and easy to follow, are illustrated with pertinent black and white photographs, some useful tables and each has a ‘further reading’ section. The authors include plenty of practical tips, demonstrat- ing their own experience in this field and they do not shy away from some of the contentious issues surrounding the ethics of keeping primates for laboratory research, use of training to facilitate animal management and the need to provide an enriching social and physical environment for our closest animal relatives. They seek to encourage discus- sion and promote an active review of established husbandry practices by animal keeping staff. This handbook goes some way towards achieving what it sets out to do however it does have some major flaws. Firstly it does not meet the needs of zoos as it deals al- most exclusively with laboratory primates and, of those, mainly macaques and marmosets. There is, for instance, nothing on the purpose of primates in zoos, design of nat- uralistic enclosures or the role of the viewing public on the husbandry and welfare of the animals. There is little reference to any zoo-based research on health or welfare of primates or to the legislative framework relevant to zoos. For the rest of this review I will assume that the hand- book was indeed written with the laboratory-animal worker in mind. Even in this context, I find it difficult to determine what level and type of scientific training the authors expect their readership will have. In some sections the writing is for the layperson; in others there are detailed descriptions involving pathological terms that, without explanation, only a trained veterinary surgeon or pathologist would under- stand. Knowledge of certain laboratory terms is also assumed (e.g., it is stated that there would be welfare implications for primates kept under Category 4 containment – but there is no explanation as to what Category 4 containment involves). The level of detail given varies considerably throughout the text. Readers are frequently pointed to other texts for even basic information that could easily be summarised by the judicious use of tables and text boxes, and yet in other sections there is much redundant information. In summary, I feel that this text is a useful primer for those working with laboratory primates but falls short of the claim that it is a ‘comprehensive guide’. The authors’ ef- forts to challenge some of the more traditional management techniques and hence lift the benchmark of primate hus- bandry and welfare should, however, be applauded. Stephanie Sanderson North of England Zoological Society, Chester Zoo, Caughall Road, Chester CH2 1LH, UK E-mail address: [email protected] doi:10.1016/j.tvjl.2006.02.008 Book reviews / The Veterinary Journal 172 (2006) 389–392 391
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Transcript of Wolfensohn Sarah, Honess Paul, ,Handbook of Primate Husbandry and Welfare (2005) Blackwell...
apart from the proportions it occupies in carcasses, is re-garded as somewhat of an unimportant area in consider-ations of farm animal growth, ignoring the fact thatwithout its correct formation and functioning animalscould not produce ultimately carcasses and other productsacceptable for human use. The much tangled effects ofgrowth hormone, insulin-like growth factors and theirbinding proteins on these latter major tissues are nicelyteased out but leave the reader in no doubt of the needfor further work to clarify completely this immensely com-plex area.
Further chapters on catecholamines, b-agonists andother repartitioning agents and steroids, together with achapter on the very topical but still uncertain role of lep-tin in controlling body composition and appetite, com-plete a book which has clear figurative material, is onthe whole nicely presented and therefore easy to follow
and read. No references are given in the text but at theend of each chapter a concise germane bibliography ispresented.
A very minor criticism is that in a few tables the abbre-viations used are not clearly explained in footnotes to thetables themselves and whilst a further edition might includeconsiderations of the hormonal control of mammary andintegument tissue growth there can be no doubt that thebook as it stands is an essential addition to the librariesof all who are concerned at an advanced level with farmanimal growth.
Tony LawrenceFaculty of Veterinary Science,
University of Liverpool,
Veterinary Teaching Hospital,
Neston, CH64 7TE, UK
doi:10.1016/j.tvjl.2006.01.007
Sarah Wolfensohn, Paul Honess, Handbook of Primate
Husbandry and Welfare, Blackwell Publishing, ISBN 1-
4051-1159-3, pp. 168, £36.50 (soft)
The Handbook of Primate Husbandry and Welfare is de-scribed on its back cover as a practical field manual that‘provides a completely comprehensive guide to good hus-bandry and management of primates’, and ‘covers all as-pects of primate care and management both in thelaboratory environment and it in zoos.’ This is a tall orderfor a relatively small paperback and I was keen to find outhow the authors tackled this task.
The book is divided into nine chapters covering primatecharacteristics and relationship with man, the physicalenvironment, staff management and health and safety,nutrition, physical well-being, psychological well-being,training of primates, and finally sourcing and transportingprimates. Chapters are well-structured and easy to follow,are illustrated with pertinent black and white photographs,some useful tables and each has a ‘further reading’ section.
The authors include plenty of practical tips, demonstrat-ing their own experience in this field and they do not shyaway from some of the contentious issues surrounding theethics of keeping primates for laboratory research, use oftraining to facilitate animal management and the need toprovide an enriching social and physical environment forour closest animal relatives. They seek to encourage discus-sion and promote an active review of established husbandrypractices by animal keeping staff.
This handbook goes some way towards achieving whatit sets out to do however it does have some major flaws.Firstly it does not meet the needs of zoos as it deals al-most exclusively with laboratory primates and, of those,mainly macaques and marmosets. There is, for instance,
nothing on the purpose of primates in zoos, design of nat-uralistic enclosures or the role of the viewing public onthe husbandry and welfare of the animals. There is littlereference to any zoo-based research on health or welfareof primates or to the legislative framework relevant tozoos.
For the rest of this review I will assume that the hand-book was indeed written with the laboratory-animal workerin mind. Even in this context, I find it difficult to determinewhat level and type of scientific training the authors expecttheir readership will have. In some sections the writing is forthe layperson; in others there are detailed descriptionsinvolving pathological terms that, without explanation, onlya trained veterinary surgeon or pathologist would under-stand. Knowledge of certain laboratory terms is also assumed(e.g., it is stated that there would be welfare implications forprimates kept under Category 4 containment – but there is noexplanation as to what Category 4 containment involves).The level of detail given varies considerably throughoutthe text. Readers are frequently pointed to other texts foreven basic information that could easily be summarisedby the judicious use of tables and text boxes, and yet inother sections there is much redundant information.
In summary, I feel that this text is a useful primer forthose working with laboratory primates but falls short ofthe claim that it is a ‘comprehensive guide’. The authors’ ef-forts to challenge some of the more traditional managementtechniques and hence lift the benchmark of primate hus-bandry and welfare should, however, be applauded.
Stephanie SandersonNorth of England Zoological Society,
Chester Zoo, Caughall Road, Chester CH2 1LH, UK
E-mail address: [email protected]
doi:10.1016/j.tvjl.2006.02.008
Book reviews / The Veterinary Journal 172 (2006) 389–392 391
