Husbandry Animal Record Merge, Split, Delete Actions and Their Impact on Studbook Records

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ZIMS Studbook records can potentially be impacted by changes in ZIMS Husbandry records. This document covers what happens when a Husbandry animal that is linked to an animal in the Studbook is merged (combined) with another Husbandry animal, split (one record made into two) or deleted (removed) in the Husbandry module.

See: Husbandry Split and Merge Options

Merge Actions:

Terminology:

 Merge = A action in ZIMS that takes two duplicate animals (source and target) in Husbandry and combines them into one animal. The final result is all of the animal data is now in one record. After the merge, the source animal record (data and GAN) will be deleted and the target animal record (combine data from both records and target GAN) remains. Only Species 360 Support can conduct a merge.

 Source animal = Animal in Husbandry that is being merged into another animal. This Source animal record and GAN is deleted from Husbandry.

 Target animal = Animal in Husbandry that accepts the source animal information from the merge. Target animal data and GAN remains in Husbandry. The Source record GAN becomes an Old Accession Number under Identifiers in the Husbandry record.

What happens to the animals in a studbook that are linked to Husbandry records that are merged depends on if they are already entered in the studbook, in the Suggested Animals list, or in the Rejected Animals list. Below documents the result of a merge on these types of studbook animals.

If an animal in the Studbook (draft or permanent) is linked to an animal in Husbandry that is merged in Husbandry, then:

If the source or target animal in Husbandry is linked to a studbook animal, then the link to the GAN in the studbook will be automatically broken within the studbook.
- Since the link between the Husbandry and Studbook animal has been broken, the target GAN will now display in the Suggested Animal list (if the animal in the studbook still matches the match criteria, is will show as a suggested link) and the user can choose to relink the Husbandry animal to the studbook animal or add the animal to the studbook.
The Husbandry Data Fix Report will display the following information for an animal in the studbook that had its link broken due to a merge:
- ID: Displays the GAN of the animal that was linked to the studbook animal prior to merge in Husbandry.
  - If both the source and target animals were linked to animals in the studbook, then both GANS will show in the report on separate lines.
- Previous Link : Shows the SB# or DRAFT# of the studbook animal that was linked to prior to merge.
- Date: Date the link for the studbook animal was broken by the system due to Husbandry animal merge.
- Reason : Target Animal: GAN XXXX (source) was merged into GAN XXX (target) in Husbandry.

The Husbandry Data Fix Report is found on the Suggested List:

If a Husbandry animal record is displayed in the Suggested Animal list (local or global) with or without a suggested link and this animal is merged in Husbandry, then:

If both source and target are in Suggested list, the source animal will be removed from list and target animal will stay.
- If the target animal had suggested links, they will remain suggested.

If only the source animal is in the Suggested list, it will be removed (since the source animal is deleted in Husbandry after the merge).
- In this case, the target animal is likely in the studbook and the target animal will now receive any new pending updates from the merged source animal data.
If the target animal is not in the studbook and no longer meets the Suggested list criteria, then the target animal will not display in the Suggested list.

If only the target is in the suggested list, the target animal will remain in the Suggested list
- If the target has suggested links they will remain suggested.

If both the target and source animals are on the Suggested list when merged in Husbandry they will not be displayed in the Data fix report, only animals that are in the studbook and merged will display in the report.
There is no notification in the Data Fix report for this situation since the animal has not been unlinked or moved from the list.

If a Husbandry animal (local or global) has been rejected and displays on the Rejected List (on the Suggested List) in the studbook with or without suggested links and animal is merged in Husbandry then:

If both source and target are in Rejected List, the source animal will be removed from list and target animal will be repopulated on the Suggested List (if it meets Suggested List taxonomy criteria).
If only source animal is in the Rejected list, it will be removed (since this animal has been merged into the target records).
- In this case, the target animal is likely in the studbook and the target animal will get any appropriate updates from the merged source animal.
If only the target animal is in the Rejected List, the target animal will repopulate on the Suggested List for the user to review.
- If the target animal has suggested links they will remain suggested.

The merge information for an animal that was on the Rejected List and merged will display in the Husbandry Data Fix Report as follows:

ID: Displays the GAN of the animal that was in the Suggested List (local/global) prior to merge.
Previous Link: Displays as N/A since the animal was not linked to the studbook.
Date : Date the animal was removed from the list due to merge.
Reason: GAN XXX was removed from rejected list due to merge and added to the Suggested List.

Split Actions:

Terminology:

 Split = An action in ZIMS that takes one animal in Husbandry and splits them into two different animals. The final result is two animals each with pieces of data from the original animal. Moving forward, both animals will be managed as separate animals in Husbandry. Only Species 360 Support can conduct a split.

What happens to the animals in a studbook that are linked to Husbandry records that are split depends on if they are already entered in the studbook, in the Suggested Animals list, or in the Rejected Animals list. Below documents the result of a split on these types of studbook animals.

If an animal in the studbook (draft or permanent) is linked to an animal in Husbandry that is split:

 The link between the studbook animal and the split animal in Husbandry will be broken.

 The two new Husbandry GANs (from the split) will show in the Suggested List (if the animals match the taxonomy criteria for the Suggested List) and they will show suggested matches for studbook animals that match link criteria.

 The split information will display in the new Husbandry Data Fix Report as follows:

o ID: The GAN of the animal that was linked to the studbook animal prior to split.

o Previous Link: The SB# or DRAFT# of the studbook animal that was linked prior to split.

o Date: Date the link for the studbook animal was broken due to split.

o Reason: GAN XXX was removed and split into GAN XXX in Husbandry.

If the Husbandry animal is displayed on the Suggested List (local or global) with or without suggested link and the animal is split in Husbandry:

If the original GAN is on the Suggested list and that animal is then split in Husbandry, then both the original GAN and the newly created GAN will now show on the Suggested list (if they meet the taxonomy criteria).
There is no notification in the Data Fix report for this situation since the animals have not been unlinked or moved from the list.

If the Husbandry animal is displayed on the Rejected List (local or global), with or without suggested link and the animal is split in Husbandry, then:

If the original GAN is on the Rejected list and that animal is then split in Husbandry, then both the original GAN and the newly created GAN will now show on the Suggested list (if they meet the taxonomy criteria).
- If the split animal was on the rejected list, it it be brought back to the Suggested list after a split so that the user can reevaluate links.
The split information will display in the new Husbandry Data Fix Report as follows:
- ID: The GAN of the animal that was in the rejected (local/global) prior to split
- Previous Link: This should display as N/A since the animal was not linked to the SB
- Date: Date the link for the SB animal was broken due to split
- Reason: GAN XXX was removed from the rejected list and added to the Suggested list due to split of GAN XXX

Delete Action:

Terminology

 Delete = An action in ZIMS that removes the animals from the system. Institutions can delete animals at their own institution from ZIMS.

What happens to the animals in a studbook that are linked to Husbandry records that are deleted depends on if they are already entered in the studbook, in the Suggested Animals list, or in the Rejected Animals list. Below documents the result of a deletion on these types of studbook animals.

If a Husbandry animal is linked to an animal in the studbook and the Husbandry animal is deleted:

The studbook animal is unlinked from the GAN in Husbandry that was deleted.
The deleted GAN will not re-populate on the Suggested list since it has been removed from the Husbandry records.
This record will show in the new Husbandry Data Fix report as follows:
- ID: The GAN of the deleted animal
- Previous Link: The SB# or DRAFT# of the SB animal that was linked to prior to deletion.
- Date: Date the link was broken/animal was deleted
- Reason : GAN XXX was deleted from Husbandry and unlined from SB ID xxx

If a Husbandry animal is in the Suggested List (local or global) and the Husbandry animal is deleted:

The animal will be removed from the Suggested list.
There is no notification in the Data Fix report since this animal was not yet in the studbook.

If a Husbandry animal is on the Rejected Suggested Animal List (local or global) and the Husbandry animal is deleted:

The rejected animal will be deleted from the Rejected list.
This record will show in the Husbandry Data Fix Report as follows:
- ID: The GAN of the deleted animal
- Previous Link : The SB# or DRAFT# of the SB animal that was linked to prior to deletion.
- Date : Date the link was broken/animal was deleted
- Reason: GAN XXX was deleted from Husbandry and unlined from SB ID xxx

Revised 5 March 2025