Study urges tougher limits on short-term animal housing

The UK Government has been urged to adopt tougher rules for short-term housing of animals after a new paper argued its current standards were not scientifically justified.

Defra has been accused of seeking to “comfortably accommodate” the pet industry over rules that allow English shops to keep some animals in lower standard housing for up to three months.

But the department maintains current laws do require people in charge of their care to ensure their welfare needs are met.

The study, published in the Animals journal, makes six main recommendations, including typical limits for short-term, temporary, or transitional conditions to be set at under 24 hours or less than a single circadian cycle.

Current rules

Current rules only impose such a limit for all animals in laboratory research settings, while the stipulation for cats in boarding settings is set at 12 hours.

But from there, the limits in England are 24 hours for mobile exhibitions in England, 72 hours for wildlife and three months for pet shops. The Welsh government imposes a seven-day limit on pet shops.

A Defra spokesperson said: “Animals are housed in temporary accommodation for a variety of reasons and, in line with the Animal Welfare Act 2006, those responsible for their care must take reasonable steps to meet their welfare needs.

“Potential breaches of animal health and welfare legislation are taken very seriously and APHA investigates all allegations.”

But co-author Rachel Grant, a senior lecturer at London South Bank University, argued consistent definitions were now “long overdue”.

‘Lower standards’

She said: “At present the guidelines appear to be arbitrary and not based on welfare science.

“Our findings, that the definition of short-term should be less than one circadian cycle, will help bring consistency to what is currently a poorly defined area of animal husbandry, and thus improve the welfare of animals housed in temporary facilities.”

Fellow co-author Catrina Steedman added: “The UK Government claims to be a world leader in animal welfare, but Defra’s keenness to comfortably accommodate the pet industry rather than animals calls this into question.

“We do not condone subjecting any animal to lower standards of housing, even for the short-term.

“However, we recognise that animals are transported and stored for various reasons, and the evidence clearly suggests that this must be kept to the true absolute minimum.”