diff --git a/src/wuttafarm/web/views/animals.py b/src/wuttafarm/web/views/animals.py
index f4c97e2..d8e4edf 100644
--- a/src/wuttafarm/web/views/animals.py
+++ b/src/wuttafarm/web/views/animals.py
@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@
 Master view for Animals
 """
 
+from collections import OrderedDict
+
 from webhelpers2.html import tags
 
 from wuttaweb.forms.schema import WuttaDictEnum
@@ -294,7 +296,9 @@ class AnimalAssetView(AssetMasterView):
         if not (self.creating or self.editing) and animal.sex is None:
             pass  # TODO: dict enum widget does not handle null values well
         else:
-            f.set_node("sex", WuttaDictEnum(self.request, enum.ANIMAL_SEX))
+            # nb. ensure empty option appears like we want
+            sex_enum = OrderedDict([("", "N/A")] + list(enum.ANIMAL_SEX.items()))
+            f.set_node("sex", WuttaDictEnum(self.request, sex_enum))
             f.set_required("sex", False)