254
THE ESSEX NATURALIST
The Humane Control of Animals Living in the Wild.
The Universities Federation for Animal Welfare, 1969.
40 pages. 8/-including postage.
This booklet is the printed result of a symposium organised
by U.F.A.W., and held on 23 January 1969 under the chairman-
ship of Dr F. Fraser Darling. It airs a subject that is often
neglected in most amateur naturalists' libraries, although most
of us come face to face with the different control methods from
time to time in the field. The booklet deals with some of the
modern trapping and poisoning techniques that are available,
with contributions from various specialists. The animals con-
cerned are most of our land mammals and birds which have been
unlucky enough to attract our attention in this respect.
Unfortunately, as a naturalist I cannot help but remember
the occasions when I have come across animals affected by the
misuse or side-effects of such methods. Thus, I would be preju-
diced in such a discussion anyway. There are references to the
legality of the various methods available, that on deer shooting
is particularly useful and concise—but I would have hoped that
an appendix would have been added in all sections, to provide
a background to the whole subject.
R. Cowlin.
The Otter Report.
By Marie N. Stephens. Universities Federation for Animal
Welfare. 1957. 88 pages, 4 text figs.
The Otter Report has been reissued with no change of text,
other than the rubber-stamped addition of the author's name. It
is a useful text on this little known and much misunderstood
animal. There are discussions of distribution and habits,
reproduction and breeding, parasites and disease. To this
reviewer much the most interesting chapter is on feeding habits,
and food. It is not generally appreciated to how great an extent
otters feed on sticklebacks and eels, even in trout streams. There
are, however, a few misstatements including the alleged method
of identification of salmonid bones, and it would have been better
if such an error had been corrected. It seems a pity not to have
taken the opportunity to revise the text and add to it the further
information available since 1957.
Alwyne Wheeler.