Defining Terms Used for Animals Working in Support Roles for People with Support Needs

Howell, Tiffani J., Nieforth, Leanne, Thomas-Pino, Clare, Samet, Lauren, Agbonika, Sunday, Cuevas-Pavincich, Francisca, Fry, Nina Ekholm, Hill, Kristine, Jegatheesan, Brinda, Kakinuma, Miki, MacNamara, Maureen, Mattila-Rautiainen, Sanna, Perry, Andy, Tardif-Williams, Christine Y., Walsh, Elizabeth Ann, Winkle, Melissa, Yamamoto, Mariko, Yerbury, Rachel, Rawat, Vijay, Alm, Kathy, Avci, Ashley, Bailey, Tanya, Baker, Hannah, Benton, Pree, Binney, Catherine, Boyle, Sara, Brandes, Hagit, Carr, Alexa M., Coombe, Wendy, Coulter, Kendra, Darby, Audrey, Davies, Lowri, Delisle, Esther, Enders-Slegers, Marie-Jose, Fournier, Angela, Fox, Marie, Gee, Nancy, Graham, Taryn M., Hamilton-Bruce, Anne, Hansen, Tia G. B., Hart, Lynette, Heirs, Morag, Hooper, Jade, Howe, Rachel, Johnson, Elizabeth, Jones, Melanie, Karagiannis, Christos, Kieson, Emily, Kim, Sun-A, Kivlen, Christine, Lanning, Beth, Lewis, Helen, Linder, Deborah, Mai, Dac Loc, Mariti, Chiara, Mead, Rebecca, Ferreira, Gilly Mendes, Ngai, Debbie, O’Keeffe, Samantha, O’Connor, Grainne, Olsen, Christine, Ormerod, Elizabeth, Power, Emma R., Pritchard, Peggy A., Rodriguez, Kerri, Rook, Deborah, Ruby, Matthew B., Schofield, Leah, Signal, Tania, Steel, Jill, Stone, Wendy, Symonds, Melissa, Rooy, Diane van, Warda, Tiamat, Wilson, Monica, Young, Janette and Bennett, Pauleen (2022) Defining Terms Used for Animals Working in Support Roles for People with Support Needs. Animals, 12 (15). p. 1975. ISSN 2076-2615

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12151975

Abstract

The nomenclature used to describe animals working in roles supporting people can be confusing. The same term may be used to describe different roles, or two terms may mean the same thing. This confusion is evident among researchers, practitioners, and end users. Because certain animal roles are provided with legal protections and/or government-funding support in some jurisdictions, it is necessary to clearly define the existing terms to avoid confusion. The aim of this paper is to provide operationalized definitions for nine terms, which would be useful in many world regions: “assistance animal”, “companion animal”, “educational/school support animal”, “emotional support animal”, “facility animal”, “service animal”, “skilled companion animal”, “therapy animal”, and “visiting/visitation animal”. At the International Society for Anthrozoology (ISAZ) conferences in 2018 and 2020, over 100 delegates participated in workshops to define these terms, many of whom co-authored this paper. Through an iterative process, we have defined the nine terms and explained how they differ from each other. We recommend phasing out two terms (i.e., “skilled companion animal” and “service animal”) due to overlap with other terms that could potentially exacerbate confusion. The implications for several regions of the world are discussed.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: companion animal, assistance animal, service animal, facility animal, therapy animal, emotional support animal, educational support animal, visiting animal, human–animal interaction
Subjects: B900 Others in Subjects allied to Medicine
L900 Others in Social studies
Department: Faculties > Business and Law > Northumbria Law School
Depositing User: John Coen
Date Deposited: 08 Aug 2022 14:41
Last Modified: 08 Aug 2022 14:45
URI: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/49771

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