Section 250-RICR-40-05-5.6 - DefinitionsA. Wherever used in these Rules and Regulations the following terms should be construed as follows: 1. "Ambulatory disabled" means livestock capable of walking but with a physical impairment that severely limits or threatens their ability to walk.2. "Body condition" means the range from emaciated to obese and is useful to assess the adequacy of the nutritional program and health status of an animal by evaluating the animal's body fat and/or muscle mass in relationship to its skeletal dimension and its stage of production.3. "Breeding/gestation stall" means any configuration in which a mature porcine animal is continuously housed, that does not allow it to turn around and freely enter or exit. This term does not apply to farrowing crates or stalls.4. "Breeders" means livestock raised to perpetuate progeny.5. "Broilers" means chickens raised for meat.6. "Cage-free housing system" means a housing system where the egg laying hens are not exclusively housed in a cage. This includes, but is not limited to free-range pasture, aviaries, fixed houses, portable houses, pasture pens, and integrated systems.7. "Cage housing systems" means one of the following egg laying hen housing systems: a. "Conventional battery cage system" means a housing system in an enclosed or open-sided building where the layer is maintained in a cage, and which meets the conditions set forth in § 5.8(F)(3)(f) of this Part; and,b. "Enriched cage system" means a housing system that provides features in addition to feed and water, such as areas for nesting, scratching, perching and/or dust bathing.8. "Conditioning" means the trimming of the beak or the partial/complete removal of the snood, comb, toenail, and dewclaw for the purpose of prevention of injury during the growth or maturity of poultry.9. "Conditioning fighting teeth" means the partial/complete removal of the fighting teeth of camelids above the gum line for the purpose of preventing injury.10. "Distress" means the condition that occurs when livestock are injured, sick, or in pain.11. "Equine" means horses, ponies, mules and donkeys.12. "Euthanasia" means the causing of humane death, through the rapid loss of consciousness followed by cardiac and respiratory arrest and the ultimate loss of brain function.13. "Existing facility" means all buildings or structures that currently house livestock utilizing any housing system as of the effective date of the standards.14. "Extralabel drug use" or "ELDU" means the use of an approved drug in a manner that is not in accordance with the approved labeling, yet meets the conditions set forth by the Animal Medicinal Drug Use Clarification Act of 1994 (AMDUCA) and the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and a Valid-Veterinary-Client-Patient-Relationship (VCPR) is required.15. "Farrowing crate" or "farrowing stall" means an enclosure in which a pregnant porcine animal is placed in the peri-parturient period until the weaning of the piglets.16. "Fatigued swine" means swine that have temporarily lost the ability to walk but have a reasonable expectation to recover full locomotion with rest.17. "Fighting teeth" means up to three teeth on either side of the mouth (six teeth maximum) which include only the upper incisor (most forward upper tooth) and the upper and lower canine teeth.18. "Housing" means the physical area or location which is occupied by livestock.19. "Humane" means the care and handling of livestock that seeks to minimize distress through utilization of the standards established by this document.20. "Layers" or "egg laying hens" means female chickens that have reached sexual maturity as demonstrated by egg production.21. "Livestock" means any bovine, equine, caprine, ovine, camelid, swine, poultry, or other animal that is raised for production of food or fiber, or is used for work, commerce, or exhibition; excluding canines, felines, reptiles, amphibians, fish, rodents, and rabbits, except those rabbits that are raised for food or fiber.22. "Management" means practices and procedures performed on livestock for the purpose of achieving production goals. Such practices and procedures include, but are not limited to breeding, weaning, sorting, culling, relocating, assessing, administration of vaccines, castration, dehorning, and identification.23. "Non-ambulatory disabled" means livestock that cannot rise from a recumbent position or that cannot walk.24. "Pain" means an unpleasant physical sensation occurring in varying degrees of severity as consequence of injury, disease or from a medical or management procedure.25. "Pain management" means the use of medications by or under the direction of a Rhode Island licensed veterinarian for the mitigation of pain during and following any management procedure that results in pain.26. "Poultry flock" means a grouping of more than one poultry animal, which may be raised for egg production, meat, and/or breeders.27. "Poultry" means turkeys, chickens, ducks, geese, or other fowl, both male and female, including layers, broilers and turkeys.28. "Pullet" means young female chickens prior to sexual maturity.29. "Quality assurance" means steps taken by the responsible party to ensure safe, wholesome and high quality products.30. "Responsible party" means a person of legal age who is the owner of the livestock and/or a person who has current responsibility or custody of the livestock.31. "Restraint" means the use of physical or chemical means that temporarily render an animal unable to freely move, and that are used for the purpose of capture or as an aid in the performance of acceptable management, husbandry, or veterinary procedures.32. "Slaughter" means the killing of animals for the purpose of consuming the animal as food or animal feed. Slaughter is distinctly different from euthanasia. Slaughter must be conducted in compliance with R.I. Gen. Laws § 4-17-1et seq. entitled Humane Slaughter of Livestock, and all applicable federal regulations.33. "Veal" means a young bovine animal sold for slaughter at or under 750 pounds, and raised for the purpose of veal meat production including: a. "Special fed veal" means calves that are fed a milk-based liquid diet throughout the feeding period;b. "Grain fed veal" means calves that are raised on a feed program beginning with a milk-based liquid diet and may include hay, pasture or other processed feeds; and,c. "Bob veal" means calves that are fed a milk-based liquid diet and generally marketed at less than three weeks old and weighing less than 150 pounds.34. "Veterinarian/client/patient relationship" means a relationship where all of the following conditions have been met:a. The veterinarian has assumed the responsibility for making medical judgments regarding the health of the animal or animals and the need for medical treatment, and the client has agreed to follow the instructions of the veterinarian.b. The veterinarian has sufficient knowledge of the animal or animals to initiate at least a general or preliminary (e.g. tentative) diagnosis of the medical condition of the animal or animals. This means that the veterinarian has recently seen and is personally acquainted with the keeping and care of the animal or animals, and/or by medically appropriate and timely visits to the premises where the animal or animals are kept.c. The veterinarian is readily available for follow-up in cases of adverse reactions or failure of the regimen of therapy.250 R.I. Code R. 250-RICR-40-05-5.6
Amended effective 1/19/2023