Environmental Enrichment

Report of the 2022 RSPCA/UFAW Rodent Welfare Group Meeting

The RSPCA/UFAW Rodent Welfare Group has held a one-day meeting every autumn for the last 29 years, so that its members can discuss current welfare research, exchange views on welfare issues and share experiences of the implementation of the 3Rs...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Environmental Enrichment, Euthanasia, HandlingAnimal Type: Mouse, Other Rodent, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Stevens, C., Hammonds, T., Hinchcliffe, J. et al. 2023. Report of the 2022 RSPCA/UFAW Rodent Welfare Group Meeting. Animal Technology and Welfare 22(2), 91–100.

Insensitivity to reward shifts in zebrafish (Danio rerio) and implications for assessing affective states

Theory and empirical findings predict that individuals in a negative affective state are more sensitive to unexpected reward loss and less sensitive to unexpected reward gain compared to individuals in a neutral or positive affective state. We explore the use...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Fish, Zebrafish

Citation: Tan, S. L. T., Handasyde, K. A., Rault, J.-L. et al. 2020. Insensitivity to reward shifts in zebrafish (Danio rerio) and implications for assessing affective states. Animal Cognition 23(1), 87–100

Rat playpens—The effect on welfare, technical time and budget

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

Citation: Tough, B. 2023, August. Rat playpens—The effect on welfare, technical time and budget. Animal Technology and Welfare 22(2), 156–157.

Effects of early noise exposure on hippocampal-dependent behaviors during adolescence in male rats: Influence of different housing conditions

Central nervous system (CNS) development is a very complex process that can be altered by environmental stimuli such as noise, which can generate long-term auditory and/or extra-auditory impairments. We have previously reported that early noise exposure can induce hippocampus-related behavioral...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Molina, S. J., Lietti, Á. E., Carreira Caro, C. S. et al. 2022. Effects of early noise exposure on hippocampal-dependent behaviors during adolescence in male rats: Influence of different housing conditions. Animal Cognition 25(1), 103–120.

Social visual contact, a primary “drive” for social animals?

Social animals are always searching for conspecifics, thereby expressing a genuine “social need”. This need is illustrated by the fact that social isolation can induce isolation syndromes that can be attenuated by devices such as mirrors. Social contacts appear to...

Year Published: 2015Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Bird, Other Bird

Citation: Perret, A., Henry, L., Coulon, M. et al. 2015. Social visual contact, a primary “drive” for social animals? Animal Cognition 18(3), 657–666.

Effects of early and later life environmental enrichment and personality on attention bias in pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus)

We investigated effects of early and later life housing on attention bias, as an indicator of affective state, in pigs differing in coping style [reactive (LR) vs. proactive (HR)]. Pigs (n = 128) in barren or enriched housing from birth (B1 vs....

Year Published: 2019Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Luo, L., Reimert, I., de Haas, E. N. et al. 2019. Effects of early and later life environmental enrichment and personality on attention bias in pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus). Animal Cognition 22(6), 959–972.

Effects of early life and current housing on sensitivity to reward loss in a successive negative contrast test in pigs

Animals in a negative affective state seem to be more sensitive to reward loss, i.e. an unexpected decrease in reward size. The aim of this study was to investigate whether early-life and current enriched vs. barren housing conditions affect the...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Luo, L., Reimert, I., Graat, E. A. M. et al. 2020. Effects of early life and current housing on sensitivity to reward loss in a successive negative contrast test in pigs. Animal Cognition 23(1), 121–130.

Clicker training as an applied refinement measure in chickens

When using chickens in animal studies, the handling of these animals for sample collection or general examinations is considered stressful due to their prey nature. For the study presented here, plasma and salivary corticosterone as well as New Area Test...

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

Citation: Mählis, G., Kleine, A., Lüschow, D. et al. 2023. Clicker training as an applied refinement measure in chickens. Animals 13(24), 3836.

Illu-shoal choice: An exploration of different means for enrichment of captive zebrafish

Fish of any variety are nowadays being kept captive for several purposes, from recreational to alimentary to research. It is possible that we humans often underestimate or misunderstand the basic, natural needs of the species we use for our purposes....

Year Published: 2023Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Fish, Zebrafish

Citation: Mair, A., Dadda, M., Kitaoka, A. et al. 2023. Illu-shoal choice: An exploration of different means for enrichment of captive zebrafish. Animals 13(16), 2640.

Testing use of the first multi-partner cognitive enrichment devices by a group of male bottlenose dolphins

Alliance formation plays a crucial part in male dolphins' lives. These partnerships may last for decades or even for a lifetime; thus, partner choice and the maintenance of these relationships are both considered key components of alliance formation. In our...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Marine Mammal

Citation: Matrai, E., Kwok, S. T., Boos, M. et al. 2022. Testing use of the first multi-partner cognitive enrichment devices by a group of male bottlenose dolphins. Animal Cognition 25(4), 961–973.