1.2 Article Types

Working Group Reports
Articles describing the recommendations or conclusions from working parties or groups mandated by one or more subscribing associations. These should be up to 7,500 words including references (of which there should be no more than 50), abstract, figure/table captions and the abstract. A hyperlink to additional information or the full deliberations of the Working Group will be accommodated and hosted as supplementary information on the journal website. All cited members of working parties will be considered as authors for the purposes of copyright.

Review Articles
Articles of a substantial and topical nature. Review Articles are generally invited and the Editorial Office may be contacted by prospective authors to verify our interest in any proposed manuscript. These should be up to 7,500 words including abstract, figure/table captions and references.

Original Articles
Articles describing substantial original research that fall within the aims and scope of the journal. These should be up to 5,500 words including the abstract, figure/table captions and references and have no more than six figures and tables, though papers reporting background data may have more than six figures and tables. Structured headings are required and must include: Introduction; Animals, Material and Methods; Results; Discussion; Acknowledgements and References. The abstract must be unstructured and consist of a single paragraph with fewer than 250 words. Please refer to section 6.4 regarding required information on animals, their conditions of husbandry and any associated refinements in the experimental design which contributed to improved animal welfare. The contribution of the findings to improving replacement, reduction or refinement should be explicit in at least one paragraph of the discussion.

Case Reports
The journal also publishes case reports or case series which report one of the following:

a) A new and/or emerging disease; b) A new association or variation in a disease process; c) An unreported or unusual adverse drug reaction; d) An unexpected or unusual presentation of a common problem or an unexpected event in the course of observing or treating an experimental animal that has not been previously reported; e) Findings that shed new light on the possible pathogenesis of a disease or an adverse effect; f) A case which could be used as a teaching exercise in deductive reasoning and clinicopathological correlation and/or a practical lesson for the investigation and/or management of similar cases.

Word count should not exceed 3,000 words, including abstract and references. Word count for the abstract should be 250 words. No more than 4 displays (tables and/or figures). Up to 30 references.

Short Reports
Technical notes and preliminary communications with adequate methodological details and conclusions. These should have fewer than 1,500 words including abstract, figure/table captions and references. The abstract should have fewer than 200 words, and have no more than two figures or tables. There should be no structured headings. This type of article should encourage the submission of reports on reduction and refinement of animal use that are of relevance to practitioners in the field.

Letters to the Editor
Letters to the Editor will be considered for publication but only on issues related to the scientific or ethical content of the journal, and authors will be given the opportunity to publish a reply to any letters.