Environmental Enrichment

Overcoming the hurdles of lab animal enrichment: Natural behaviors vs. scientific need

The Animal Resources Core (ARC) at the Abigail Wexner Research Institute (AWRI) at Nationwide Children's Hospital (NCH) faces many of the same challenges other institutions manage in terms of enrichment for laboratory animals. A Behavior Assessment Team (BAT) was developed...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Chinchilla, Fish, Goat, Mouse, Pig, Rabbit, Rat, Rodent, Sheep, Zebrafish

Citation: Mantz, M., Pugerud, A. 2024. Overcoming the hurdles of lab animal enrichment: Natural behaviors vs. scientific need. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 12(1) (January/February), 32-34.

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? Not much if they’re provided with the right enrichment!

Husbandry & Management,Environmental Enrichment

Year Published: 2024Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Other Animal

Citation: Brennan, J. 2024. How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? Not much if they're provided with the right enrichment! Laboratory Animal Science Professional 12(1) (January/February), 46-48.

How outing conditions relate to the motivation of movement-restricted cattle to access an outdoor exercise yard

Assessing animal motivation to access a given resource is one method available to evaluate what to provide in the living environments of captive animals. Providing increased opportunities for movement can be seen as an important source of enrichment, but we...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Cattle

Citation: Aigueperse, N., Boyer, V., Vasseur, E. 2023. How outing conditions relate to the motivation of movement-restricted cattle to access an outdoor exercise yard. Behavioural Processes 213, 104957.

Meeting ferret enrichment needs in infectious disease laboratory settings

Environmental enrichment is a necessary component of all research vivarium settings. However, appropriate enrichment decisions vary greatly depending on the species involved and the research use of the animals. The increasing use of ferrets in research settings—notably for modeling the...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Ferret

Citation: Anderson-Mondella, C. J., Maines, T. R., Tansey, C. M. et al. 2023. Meeting ferret enrichment needs in infectious disease laboratory settings. JAALAS 62(6), 518–524.

Nonhuman primate enrichment evaluation program

Noting that it is typical for enrichment devices to be approved by a committee and understanding that this is paramount for animal safety, we began to think outside the box and seek additional ways to approve enrichment devices for the...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Deugan, C. R., Gross, A. A. 2023. Nonhuman primate enrichment evaluation program. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 11(2) (March/April), 46-49.

A fat tailed what?!: Navigating husbandry for the fat tailed dunnart (Sminthopsis crassicaudata)

FTDs are Australian carnivorous nocturnal marsupials, whose diet, environmental needs, and enrichment vary from typical research species. Due to the limited working knowledge on the husbandry and care of this species in a biomedical setting, information was compiled from multiple...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Handling, Husbandry & Management, ReproductionAnimal Type: Other Animal

Citation: Powell, J., Collins, T., Beaty, T. et al. 2023. A fat tailed what?!: Navigating husbandry for the fat tailed dunnart (Sminthopsis crassicaudata). Laboratory Animal Science Professional 11(4) (July/August), 46-48.

Contrafreeloading indicating the behavioural need to forage in healthy and feather damaging Grey parrots

Contrafreeloading (CFL) is a concept that describes the preference of an animal to work for food even when identical food is freely available, and reflects an intrinsic motivation to engage in foraging-related activities. However, altered brain neurochemistry, which can be...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Abnormal/Problematic Behavior, Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Bird, Parrot

Citation: van Zeeland, Y. R. A., Schoemaker, N. J., Lumeij, J. T. 2023. Contrafreeloading indicating the behavioural need to forage in healthy and feather damaging Grey parrots. Animals 13(16), 2635.

Evaluating environmental enrichment methods in three zoo-housed varanidae lizard species

Environmental enrichment has been shown to enhance the behavioural repertoire and reduce the occurrence of abnormal behaviours, particularly in zoo-housed mammals. However, evidence of its effectiveness in reptiles is lacking. Previously, it was believed that reptiles lacked the cognitive sophistication...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Lizard, Reptile

Citation: Waterman, J. O., McNally, R., Harrold, D. et al. 2021. Evaluating environmental enrichment methods in three zoo-housed varanidae lizard species. Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens 2(4), 716–727.

Effects of different auditory environments on behavior, learning ability, and fearfulness in 4-week-old laying hen chicks

Environmental enrichment can improve animal welfare. As a method of environmental enrichment, the effect of different auditory stimulations on the behavior response and welfare of laying hen chicks has yet to be investigated. Therefore, this study was aimed at exploring...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Zhao, S., Cui, W., Yin, G. et al. 2023. Effects of different auditory environments on behavior, learning ability, and fearfulness in 4-week-old laying hen chicks. Animals 13(19), 3022.

The UFAW Handbook on the Care and Management of Laboratory and Other Research Animals (9th ed.)

The latest edition of the seminal reference on the care and management of laboratory and research animals. The newly revised ninth edition of The UFAW Handbook on the Care and Management of Laboratory and Other Research Animals delivers an up-to-date...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Animal Training, Environmental Enrichment, Euthanasia, Housing, Husbandry & Management, Natural Behavior, Relocation & Transport, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Amphibian, Bird, Capuchin, Cat, Cattle, Cephalopod, Crustacean, Dog, Equine, Ferret, Finch, Fish, Fowl, Frog & Toad, Gerbil, Goat, Guinea Pig, Hamster, Invertebrate, Lizard, Macaque, Marmoset, Mole Rat, Mouse, Nonhuman Primate, Other Animal, Other Bird, Other Fish, Other Nonhuman Primate, Other Rodent, Pig, Rabbit, Rat, Reptile, Rodent, Sheep, Snake, Tree Shrew, Turtle & Tortoise, Vervet (African Green Monkey), Zebrafish

Citation: Golledge, H., Richardson, C. (Eds.) 2024. The UFAW Handbook on the Care and Management of Laboratory and Other Research Animals (9th ed.). Wiley-Blackwell. 1040 p.