{
  "vercy": "1.0-draft",
  "publication": {
    "status": "research-draft",
    "adjudicationStatus": "unreviewed",
    "publishableCanonical": false,
    "generatedAt": "2026-09-13T20:31:57Z",
    "providers": [
      "Claude"
    ],
    "breadth": "written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify",
    "pass": 2,
    "wave": 4,
    "engine": "claude",
    "enrichment": {
      "pass": 3,
      "engine": "claude",
      "producedAt": "2026-10-06T12:00:00Z",
      "ingestedAt": "2026-10-06T07:35:24+00:00",
      "fields": [
        "agent_conduct",
        "ethics",
        "owners"
      ]
    },
    "gate": {
      "passed": true,
      "version": "1.0",
      "at": "2026-10-06T19:51:59+00:00",
      "evidence": [
        "completeness 1.00",
        "sense: Wikidata description",
        "2 live sources",
        "review by codex: pass"
      ]
    }
  },
  "metaModel": {
    "id": "THING-Q41692",
    "registryId": "vr.tr.mule",
    "name": "mule",
    "version": "0.2.0-wave.4",
    "entryKind": "thing",
    "family": "Thing Registry",
    "domain": [
      "PHY.LIV"
    ],
    "status": "research-draft"
  },
  "canonicalUrl": "https://ver.cy/models/thing/q41692/",
  "model": {
    "registry_id": "vr.tr.mule",
    "name": "mule",
    "purpose": "Let an agent explain mules, relay biology, breeding, uses and welfare from veterinary and agricultural sources, describe the named regional types, and distinguish mules from hinnies, donkeys, horses, zebroids and the other senses of mule, including drug couriers, which is out of scope beyond noting the sense.",
    "definition": "The hybrid offspring of a male donkey, a jack, and a female horse, a mare, valued for strength, endurance, sure-footedness and longevity as a pack, draught and riding animal, almost always sterile because of mismatched chromosome numbers, with regional breeding traditions such as the Poitevin mule of western France, bred from the Baudet du Poitou donkey and the Poitevin mulassier horse, and the Pyrenean mule; the reverse cross, a male horse and female donkey, produces a hinny. Mules need welfare-appropriate care and are protected by animal welfare laws.",
    "what_it_is_for": "Pack, draught and riding work.",
    "affordances": [
      "explain biology and breeding",
      "relay uses and welfare",
      "describe named regional types",
      "distinguish related animals"
    ],
    "distinguishing_features": [
      "Hybrid vigour",
      "Sterility",
      "Sure-footed",
      "Long-lived"
    ],
    "appearance": "A horse-like body with long ears, a thin tail and donkey-like features.",
    "visual_identification": [
      "Donkey-horse hybrid from a jack and a mare",
      "Poitevin mule, Mule des Pyrenees",
      "Hinnies come from a stallion and jenny; donkeys and horses are parent species; zebroids involve zebras"
    ],
    "physical_properties": [
      {
        "quantity": "chromosomes",
        "typical_range": "63",
        "unit": "count",
        "note": "horse 64, donkey 62"
      },
      {
        "quantity": "fertility",
        "typical_range": "almost always sterile",
        "unit": "note",
        "note": "rare fertile mares reported"
      },
      {
        "quantity": "lifespan",
        "typical_range": "often 30-40",
        "unit": "years",
        "note": "approximate"
      }
    ],
    "families_and_kinds": [
      "draught mules",
      "pack mules",
      "riding mules",
      "regional types such as Poitevin and Pyrenean mules",
      "hinnies as reverse hybrids"
    ],
    "related_models": [
      {
        "relation": "is a kind of",
        "target": "horse-donkey hybrid",
        "why": "in registry terms"
      },
      {
        "relation": "has parent",
        "target": "donkey",
        "why": "male"
      },
      {
        "relation": "has parent",
        "target": "horse",
        "why": "female"
      },
      {
        "relation": "is contrasted with",
        "target": "hinny",
        "why": ""
      }
    ],
    "identifiers": [],
    "standards_and_regulation": [
      "Animal welfare laws",
      "Equine identification and passport rules such as in the EU"
    ],
    "failure_modes_and_hazards": [
      "Overloading working animals",
      "Neglecting equid-specific care",
      "Confusing mules and hinnies"
    ],
    "in_scope": [],
    "out_of_scope": [],
    "characteristics": [],
    "agent_conduct": {
      "may": [
        "Feed, water and monitor a mule on its keeper's instructions.",
        "Report lameness, sores from packs or harness, or signs of distress."
      ],
      "must_not": [
        "Load a mule beyond what it can safely carry.",
        "Beat or force a mule that refuses to go on.",
        "Breed or sell a mule as fertile or misrepresent its parentage.",
        "Leave a working mule without water, shade or rest."
      ],
      "requires_human": [
        "Any decision to sell, retire or euthanise a mule."
      ]
    },
    "ethics": {
      "considerations": [
        "Working mules in many places carry heavy loads with little care or rest.",
        "Mules are sterile hybrids, so breeding them is a human choice made for human use."
      ],
      "affected_parties": [
        "The mule itself",
        "Its keeper",
        "People working with it"
      ]
    },
    "owners": {
      "steward": "The keeper of the animal; equine passport or registration systems where they apply.",
      "master_systems": [
        "Equine passport and identification databases"
      ]
    }
  },
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "wikidata",
      "title": "Wikidata item Q41692: mule",
      "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q41692",
      "url_status": "live",
      "what_it_supports": "identity and sense of the item",
      "checked_by": "wikidata-api"
    },
    {
      "id": "wikipedia-en",
      "title": "Wikipedia: Mule",
      "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mule",
      "url_status": "live",
      "what_it_supports": "general description of the item",
      "checked_by": "wikidata-api sitelink"
    }
  ],
  "structure": {
    "bundles": [
      {
        "id": "understand",
        "name": "Understand",
        "description": "What a mule is.",
        "rationale": "Science.",
        "layers": [
          {
            "id": "definition",
            "name": "Definition",
            "description": "Definition.",
            "findings": [
              {
                "id": "definition-finding",
                "name": "Definition",
                "description": "Definition.",
                "questions": [
                  {
                    "text": "What is a mule, and how does it differ from hinnies, donkeys, horses and zebroids?",
                    "kind": "definition"
                  },
                  {
                    "text": "Is the question about the animal, its care, breeding or another meaning of mule?",
                    "kind": "boundary"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "types",
            "name": "Types",
            "description": "Named types.",
            "findings": [
              {
                "id": "types-finding",
                "name": "Types",
                "description": "Types.",
                "questions": [
                  {
                    "text": "What are the Poitevin mule and the Pyrenean mule?",
                    "kind": "definition"
                  },
                  {
                    "text": "Which entry fits the specific type?",
                    "kind": "action"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ]
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "id": "biology",
        "name": "Biology",
        "description": "Biology.",
        "rationale": "Science.",
        "layers": [
          {
            "id": "genetics",
            "name": "Genetics",
            "description": "Genetics and sterility.",
            "findings": [
              {
                "id": "genetics-finding",
                "name": "Genetics",
                "description": "Genetics.",
                "questions": [
                  {
                    "text": "Why are mules usually sterile, and what rare exceptions are reported?",
                    "kind": "provenance"
                  },
                  {
                    "text": "Which references are standard?",
                    "kind": "provenance"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "traits",
            "name": "Traits",
            "description": "Traits.",
            "findings": [
              {
                "id": "traits-finding",
                "name": "Traits",
                "description": "Traits.",
                "questions": [
                  {
                    "text": "What traits do mules inherit from each parent?",
                    "kind": "provenance"
                  },
                  {
                    "text": "Which sources are cited?",
                    "kind": "provenance"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ]
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "id": "care",
        "name": "Care",
        "description": "Uses and welfare.",
        "rationale": "Regulation.",
        "layers": [
          {
            "id": "work",
            "name": "Work",
            "description": "Working mules.",
            "findings": [
              {
                "id": "work-finding",
                "name": "Work",
                "description": "Work.",
                "questions": [
                  {
                    "text": "How are mules used in agriculture, trekking and mountain transport?",
                    "kind": "provenance"
                  },
                  {
                    "text": "Which entry fits pack animal?",
                    "kind": "action"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "welfare",
            "name": "Welfare",
            "description": "Welfare.",
            "findings": [
              {
                "id": "welfare-finding",
                "name": "Welfare",
                "description": "Welfare.",
                "questions": [
                  {
                    "text": "What welfare guidance applies to working equids, as organisations such as The Brooke describe?",
                    "kind": "provenance"
                  },
                  {
                    "text": "Which entry fits The Brooke?",
                    "kind": "action"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ]
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "id": "context",
        "name": "Context",
        "description": "History.",
        "rationale": "Context.",
        "layers": [
          {
            "id": "poitou",
            "name": "Poitou",
            "description": "Poitou mule industry.",
            "findings": [
              {
                "id": "poitou-finding",
                "name": "Poitou",
                "description": "Poitou.",
                "questions": [
                  {
                    "text": "How did Poitou become famous for mule breeding, and how are the breeds conserved?",
                    "kind": "provenance"
                  },
                  {
                    "text": "Which entry fits Baudet du Poitou?",
                    "kind": "action"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "history",
            "name": "History",
            "description": "History.",
            "findings": [
              {
                "id": "history-finding",
                "name": "History",
                "description": "History.",
                "questions": [
                  {
                    "text": "How were mules used in armies, mines and the American West?",
                    "kind": "provenance"
                  },
                  {
                    "text": "Which entry fits mule train?",
                    "kind": "action"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ]
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "openQuestions": [
    "Should the Poitevin mule be a separate entry?",
    "How should veterinary and breed society sources be linked?",
    "Should the hinny be linked as a separate entry?"
  ],
  "statistics": {
    "bundles": 4,
    "layers": 8,
    "findings": 8,
    "questions": 16
  }
}