2.2. Literature Analysis

Of the 130 papers returned from the literature search, 16 could not be sourced due to institutional access issues. A further 26 did not actually relate to Ball pythons, (only mentioned them in reference to other research) and were therefore removed from the dataset. Two papers relating to ‘Python’ software rather than animals were also removed from the returned list. This left a total of 88 papers remaining, which were included in the analysis. The literature was analysed by recording five different aspects of the content: focus, target words, use, welfare domains and pathogens.

Focus: Papers were categorised in terms of their primary focus (animal welfare, conservation, veterinary science and wildlife trade, see Appendix A), and country of origin of the study listed (where no location was given for study, the country of first author was used).

Target words: Each paper was searched for five target words, related broadly to reptile welfare: ‘welfare’, ‘suffering’, ‘pain’, ‘distress’ and ‘harm’.

Use: In reference to those papers focused specifically on wildlife trade, use of snakes in relation to the paper were categorised as ‘kill on site’, ‘capture, transport live and kill for use’ or ‘live use’.

Welfare domains: The dataset was also analysed with regards to mention of the five domains of animal welfare, a systematic assessment framework devised to assess animal’s welfare state through consideration of positive and negative experiences [35]. The experiences are split into five categories: four physical domains (environment, nutrition, physical health and behaviour) and one mental domain. Papers were recorded if they mentioned food and water deprivation, environmental challenge or discomfort, disease or injury, behavioural restriction or anxiety and stress.

Pathogens: Any mention of ‘bacteria’, ‘fungi’, ‘parasite’, ‘protozoa’ or ‘virus’ were noted as a result of searching the document. All disorders, diseases or conditions were recorded in relation to Ball pythons, with a list of specific named pathogens and parasites compiled. In addition, any recommendations made by the authors were collated.