Environmental Enrichment

The voice of choice: A scoping review of choice-based animal welfare studies

“Choice and control” is a phrase used widely in animal welfare science to describe providing captive animals with the ability to select between possible outcomes (stimuli or events). This concept has gained traction as a pivotal management technique across a...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Environmental Enrichment, HousingAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Rust, K., Clegg, I., Fernandez, E. J. 2024. The voice of choice: A scoping review of choice-based animal welfare studies. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 275, 106270.

Exploring pet rat care: A comprehensive survey of husbandry, health, behavior, and the associations between caretaker attitudes, attachment, and husbandry practices

Pet rats are still understudied in terms of animal welfare and human-animal interaction research. An extensive online survey targeting German-speaking rat caretakers was conducted (n = 978). One of the study's goals was to investigate husbandry practices, health indicators, rat...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Rat

Citation: Schneidewind, S., Lesch, R., Heizmann, V. et al. 2024. Exploring pet rat care: A comprehensive survey of husbandry, health, behavior, and the associations between caretaker attitudes, attachment, and husbandry practices. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 75, 1–19.

Novel scent enrichment enhances socio-sexual and olfactory behaviors in zoo-housed gentle lemurs

The Alaotran gentle lemur (Hapalemur Alaotrensis) is one of the most endangered primates in the world and shows a low success rate in captive breeding programmes. We tested a novel scent enrichment, made up of a synthesized mixture likely conveying...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Lemur, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Fontani, S., Glendewar, G., Cowen, R. et al. 2025. Novel scent enrichment enhances socio-sexual and olfactory behaviors in zoo-housed gentle lemurs. American Journal of Primatology 87(1), e23716.

Burrowing for answers: Investigating Syrian hamster welfare through owner surveys

Background: Syrian hamsters are a relatively common pet species in the UK. However, we know very little about how they are kept. The aim of this study was to identify areas of good and poor practices among Syrian hamster owners...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Hamster, Rodent

Citation: Fox, A., Neville, V. 2024. Burrowing for answers: Investigating Syrian hamster welfare through owner surveys. Veterinary Record 195(9), e4534.

Puzzle feeder as a cognitive enrichment strategy determines long-term welfare improvements in a teleost fish

Providing access to cognitive tasks, such as puzzle feeders, holds promise as enrichment strategy to enhance the welfare of captive animals. Despite the substantial number of teleost fish in captivity, the effects of cognitive enrichments in this group remain relatively...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Fish, Zebrafish

Citation: Gatto, E., Varracchio, C., Bertolucci, C. et al. 2024. Puzzle feeder as a cognitive enrichment strategy determines long-term welfare improvements in a teleost fish. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 279, 106401.

Enjoy the silence: Preference and short-term effect of exposure to different acoustical stimuli in dogs

Prior research has demonstrated that animal vocalizations and music can elicit emotional responses in dogs, but their preferences for different acoustic stimuli remain underexplored. This study aimed to develop a methodology to assess dogs' preferences and behavioral reactions to various...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Dog

Citation: Guérineau, C., Lõoke, M., Broseghini, A. et al. 2024. Enjoy the silence: Preference and short-term effect of exposure to different acoustical stimuli in dogs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 281, 106452.

Rattling the cage: Behaviour and resource use of mice in laboratory and pet cages

Conventional housing for laboratory mice limits the expression of species-specific behaviours and restricts the control over their environment, thus failing to guarantee the animals' welfare. To better understand the behaviour and resource use of laboratory mice, we housed mice (n...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Environmental Enrichment, HousingAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Gygax, M., Fortes, M. S., Voelkl, B. et al. 2024. Rattling the cage: Behaviour and resource use of mice in laboratory and pet cages. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 278, 106381.

Are smelly toys more fun? Shelter dogs’ preferences for toys, scents, and scented toys

As dogs reside in shelters awaiting adoption, it is critical that they remain behaviorally healthy. A variety of enrichment strategies improve the welfare of shelter dogs, including object (usually in the form of toys) and scent enrichment. However, for these...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Dog

Citation: Howard, S., Gunter, L. M., Feuerbacher, E. N. 2024. Are smelly toys more fun? Shelter dogs' preferences for toys, scents, and scented toys. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 278, 106383.

Improving effectiveness of environmental enrichment: The role of light intensity in rock bream (Oplegnathus fasciatus) rearing

Environmental enrichment is a potential approach to enhance the fitness and survival of hatchery fish stocked for conservation purposes. Its effectiveness presumably depends not only on ecologically relevant features of physical enrichment but also on light condition applied. Despite the...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish

Citation: Li, Z., He, J., Zhou, S. et al. 2024. Improving effectiveness of environmental enrichment: The role of light intensity in rock bream (Oplegnathus fasciatus) rearing. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 281, 106421.

Early rearing of European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) with mild current enrichment modifies fish swimming behavior without altering their growth performance

The implementation of conditions that favor optimum swimming activity (e.g., suitable flow regimes), has been associated with enhanced growth and improved welfare in some farmed fish species. Despite the importance of European seabass in aquaculture, the potential beneficial effects of...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish

Citation: Magnoni, L. J., Cousin, X., Leguen, I. et al. 2025. Early rearing of European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) with mild current enrichment modifies fish swimming behavior without altering their growth performance. Physiology & Behavior 289, 114742.