The recommendations for minimum floor area given in the European Convention
for the Protection of Vertebrate Animals used for Experimental and other S
cientific Purposes (1986), as well as in the Publication on the Planning an
d Structure of Animal Facilities for Institutes Performing Animal Experimen
ts of the Society for Laboratory Animal Science (GV-SOLAS 1989), are plotte
d in a double logarithmic system in order to get an allometric function of
recommended floor area to body weight. Both recommendations correspond very
well with the so-called metabolic body weight seen at the allometric expon
ent of 0.73 and 0.70 respectively. Thus the recommendations in general attr
ibute the floor space according to the metabolic body weight of the animal.
Nevertheless, despite this general rule, some species are recommended less
space than others when measured on this allometric scale. Thus it must be
questioned why, for example, rabbits, chicken and pigs are recommended less
space than other species. The general allometric measure seems at least to
be a good scale for the comparison of recommended floor space, and for the
discussion of species-specific needs for more or less space.