Defining Short-Term Accommodation for Animals.

Area of Science:

• Animal Welfare Science
• Veterinary Public Health
• Agricultural Science

Background:

• Definitions of short-term, temporary, and transitional animal housing vary significantly.
• These definitions are crucial for establishing appropriate animal housing and welfare standards.
• Inconsistent terminology can lead to suboptimal animal care and welfare outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the scientific basis and consistency of definitions for short-term, temporary, and transitional animal housing.
• To evaluate English Government guidance on animal accommodation periods.
• To propose standardized, scientifically-backed timeframes for animal housing.

Main Methods:

• Conducted three literature searches on Google Scholar for reports on short-term, temporary, or transitional animal husbandry.
• Analyzed key publications, focusing on English Government guidance and independent scientific criteria.
• Compared stipulated accommodation periods across different sources.

Main Results:

• English Government guidance on acceptable accommodation periods for animals varied widely (<1 day to 3 months).
• Independent scientific criteria typically used shorter periods (hours to several days).
• Guidance, particularly from the English Government, showed inconsistency and lacked scientific rationale.

Conclusions:

• Definitions and stipulations for short-term, temporary, or transitional animal housing are inconsistent and lack scientific rationale.
• Formal and informal guidance should limit these terms to precautionary timeframes within one circadian cycle (<24 hours).
• Animals housed for ≥24 hours should be in conditions consistent with long-term housing, husbandry, and best practices.