Environmental Enrichment

Rats move nesting materials to create different functional areas: Short report

Here we document how rats separate their living space into different functional regions. Five groups of four female Sprague Dawley rats were housed in caging systems that consisted of two standard cages connected by a tube. Both cages were provided...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Environmental Enrichment, HousingAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Amendola, L., Xu, N., Weary, D. M. 2023. Rats move nesting materials to create different functional areas: Short report. Laboratory Animals 57(1), 75–78.

Enriched environment during adolescence modulates lipid metabolism and emotion-related behaviors in mice

Enriched environment (EE) is an important animal experimental paradigm to decipher gene-environment interaction. It is thought to be efficient in aiding recovery from certain metabolism disorders or cognitive impairments. Recently, the effects of EE during adolescence in mice gradually draw...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Xu, L., Jiao, M., Cui, Z.-L. et al. 2023. Enriched environment during adolescence modulates lipid metabolism and emotion-related behaviors in mice. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 26(2), 218–228.

The effect of short-term classical music stimulus on behavior and tonic immobility reaction of pullets

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of short-term stimulation of classical music on the behavior of pullets and to explore whether classical music as an auditory enrichment factor reduces the fear level in pullets. One hundred...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Chicken

Citation: Zhao, S., Zhang, R., Li, C. et al. 2023. The effect of short-term classical music stimulus on behavior and tonic immobility reaction of pullets. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 26(3), 386–392.

Benchmarking enrichment efforts in the US & Canada across species and enrichment categories

Enrichment is important for animal welfare and data quality. Provision of enrichment opportunities varies between species and enrichment category. However, data benchmarking these differences does not exist. Our objective was to characterize enrichment provision and associated factors across species in...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Cat, Cattle, Chicken, Dog, Ferret, Goat, Macaque, Mink, Mouse, Nonhuman Primate, Rabbit, Rat, Rodent, Sheep

Citation: LaFollette, M. R., Cloutier, S., Brady, C. M. et al. 2023. Benchmarking enrichment efforts in the US & Canada across species and enrichment categories. JAALAS 62(4), 303–316.

Enrichment sessions as a complementary therapy for hospitalized cats: Implications for stress reduction and sporotrichosis’ lesion recovery

Sporotrichosis treatment in cats requires long-term isolation of infected animals. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of environmental enrichment sessions on the behaviour and lesion progression of cats hospitalized for sporotrichosis treatment. Ten cats were divided...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Cat

Citation: Sato, S. T. M., de Farias, M. R., Daros, R. R. 2023. Enrichment sessions as a complementary therapy for hospitalized cats: Implications for stress reduction and sporotrichosis' lesion recovery. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 269, 106114.

Perinatal environmental enrichment changes anxiety-like behaviours in mice and produces similar intergenerational benefits in offspring

Environmental enrichment implemented in early life is able to induce long-term changes in gene expression, synaptic function and behavioural responses. In this study, we evaluated the adult behavioural effects of perinatal environment enrichment in male and female mice (PEE), as...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Environmental Enrichment, Rearing & Weaning, ReproductionAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Silva-Almeida, C., Muniz, S. C. A., Jobim, C. M. N. et al. 2024. Perinatal environmental enrichment changes anxiety-like behaviours in mice and produces similar intergenerational benefits in offspring. Behavioural Brain Research 456, 114700.

Social structure and habitat design affect the impact of a novel feeding enrichment for alligators

Providing enrichment that expands the range of behavioral opportunities associated with food acquisition and environmental exploration is an important contributing factor to the well-being of zoo animals. These behaviors can be difficult to promote in carnivores, given their foraging strategies...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Crocodile & Alligator, Reptile

Citation: Spain, M., Pearson, C., Rosenblatt, A. E. 2023. Social structure and habitat design affect the impact of a novel feeding enrichment for alligators. Zoo Biology 42(3), 383–389.

Environmental enrichment strategies for weaned pigs: Welfare and behavior

This research aims to evaluate the effects of different types and strategies of environmental enrichment for weaned pigs on behavior. Forty weaned piglets aged 21 to 28 days were distributed in a completely randomized design in five treatments: without enrichment...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Rearing & WeaningAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Vargas, L. B., Caldara, F. R., Lippi, I. C. de C. et al. 2023. Environmental enrichment strategies for weaned pigs: Welfare and behavior. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 26(2), 205–217.

The influence of olfactory enrichment on the behavior of two captive New World primates: Black-capped capuchin (Sapajus apella) and common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus)

Environmental enrichment is an animal husbandry principle that seeks to provide the stimuli necessary for the optimal physiological and psychological well-being of animals. Due to primates having highly developed visual systems, there have been limited attempts to quantify the benefit...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Capuchin, Marmoset, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Wowk, Z. M., Behie, A. M. 2023. The influence of olfactory enrichment on the behavior of two captive New World primates: Black-capped capuchin (Sapajus apella) and common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus). Zoo Biology 42(2), 231–242.

A mapping review of refinements to laboratory rat housing and husbandry

Refining the housing and husbandry of laboratory rats is an important goal, both for ethical reasons and to allow better quality research. We conducted a mapping review of 1,017 studies investigating potential refinements of housing and husbandry of the laboratory...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Neville, V., Lind, J., Mendl, E. et al. 2023. A mapping review of refinements to laboratory rat housing and husbandry. Lab Animal 52(3), 63–74.