Felidae (novel) many contemporary ethical problems and philosophical questions, such as the relationship between mankind and animals and the idea of superior races within species. Thus, the "Felidae" series can be considered more complex and multi-layered than many contemporary crime novels. The novel begins with Francis, a tomcat, moving to a new neighborhood with his owner. Francis soon finds the corpse of another local cat, Sascha. Bluebeard (Blaubart in the original print), a deformed local cat, is convinced that humans(cat slang: "can-openers") are responsible for the death and other recent murders. Francis disagrees with this assessment, convinced that the slash on Sascha's
Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 inquiry compared the Act to legislation from France, the U.S., and Japan. The report concluded that "virtually all witnesses agreed that the UK has the tightest system of regulation in the world" and that it is "the only country to require an explicit cost/benefit assessment of every application to conduct animal research." Note that costs are explicitly in terms of adverse effects on animals, not the financial cost to the experimenters. In 2005, Patricia Hewitt, then British Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, called the Act "[among] the strongest laws in the world to protect animals which are being