Defining Terms Used for Animals Working in Support Roles for People with Support Needs
Creators: name: Howell, Tiffani
name: Nieforth, Leanne
name: Thomas-Pino, Clare
name: Samet, Lauren
name: Agbonika, Sunday
name: Cuevas-Pavincich, Francisca
name: Fry, Nina Ekholm
name: Hill, Kristine
name: Jegatheesan, Brinda
name: Kakinuma, Miki
name: MacNamara, Maureen
name: Mattila-Rautiainen, Sanna
name: Perry, Andy
name: Tardif-Williams, Christine Y
name: Walsh, Elizabeth Ann
name: Winkle, Melissa
name: Yamamoto, Mariko
name: Yerbury, Rachel
name: Rawat, Vijay
name: Alm, Kathy
name: Avci, Ashley
name: Bailey, Tanya
name: Baker, Hannah
name: Benton, Pree
name: Binney, Catherine
name: Boyle, Sara
name: Brandes, Hagit
name: Carr, Alexa M
name: Coombe, Wendy
name: Coulter, Kendra
name: Darby, Audrey
name: Davies, Lowri
name: Delisle, Esther
name: Enders-Slegers, Marie-Jose
name: Fournier, Angela
name: Fox, Marie
name: Gee, Nancy
name: Graham, Taryn M
name: Hamilton-Bruce, Anne
name: Hansen, Tia GB
name: Hart, Lynette
name: Heirs, Morag
name: Hooper, Jade
name: How, Rachel
name: Johnson, Elizabeth
name: Jones, Melanie
name: Karagiannis, Christos
name: Kieson, Emily
name: Kim, Sun-A
name: Kivlen, Christine
name: Lannin, Beth
name: Lewis, Helen
name: Linder, Deborah
name: Mai, Jimmy
name: Mariti, Chiara
name: Mead, Rebecca
name: Ferreira, Gilly Mendes
name: Ngai, Debbie
name: O'Keeffe, Samantha
name: O'Connor, Grainne
name: Olsen, Christine
name: Ormerod, Elizabeth
name: Power, Emma R
name: Pritchard, Peggy A
name: Rodriguez, Kerri
name: Rook, Deborah
name: Ruby, Matthew
name: Schofield, Leah
name: Signal, Tania
name: Steel, Jill
name: Stone, Wendy
name: Symonds, Melissa
name: van Rooy, Diane
name: Warda, Tiamat
name: Wilson, Monica
name: Young, Janette
name: Bennett, Pauleen
Publisher: name: La Trobe
Year: 2024
Subjects: classificationCode: 30
subject: Agricultural, veterinary and food sciences
classificationCode: 3003
subject: Animal production
classificationCode: 3009
subject: Veterinary sciences
subject: FOS: Veterinary sciences
classificationCode: 31
subject: Biological sciences
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
classificationCode: 3109
subject: Zoology

description: 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.