Environmental Enrichment

Impact of enrichment of metabolic cages with ball-shaped shelters in studies of protein metabolism in rats (Rattus norvegicus)

Housing in metabolic cages for quantitative collection of urine and feces is necessary for nitrogen (N) metabolism studies but may have negative consequences for rat welfare. We hypothesized that providing shelters in metabolic cages would affect the rats’ behavior and...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological Measurement, Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Lærke, H. N., Ternman, E. M., Stødkilde, L. et al. 2025. Impact of enrichment of metabolic cages with ball-shaped shelters in studies of protein metabolism in rats (Rattus norvegicus). Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science 64(2), 301–309.

Behavior and safety in the use of canopy bridges by howler monkeys in an experimental environment

Urban sprawl advances over forested areas and threatens arboreal species, which often use roads, power lines, and rooftops to move, resulting in roadkill, electrocution, and dog attacks. One measure to mitigate these risks is the installation of canopy bridges, which...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Environmental Enrichment, HousingAnimal Type: Nonhuman Primate, Other Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Dias, P., Teixeira, F. Z., Ferrugem, V. H. C. et al. 2025. Behavior and safety in the use of canopy bridges by howler monkeys in an experimental environment. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 290, 106696.

Hide-and-seek: Examining hide preferences and behavior patterns of reptiles through 24-hour monitoring (2025)

Providing animals in zoos with private, out-of-view areas is a basic need for many species but has been rarely studied systematically. Recent research on reptiles has highlighted the welfare benefits of complex environments but, as these studies typically include private...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Lizard, Reptile, Snake

Citation: Wierzal, N., Seiler, S., Boehm, D. et al. 2025. Hide-and-seek: Examining hide preferences and behavior patterns of reptiles through 24-hour monitoring. Animal Behavior and Cognition 12(2), 243–257.

Contrafreeloading and its influencing factors in budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus): Implications for their feeding and welfare (2025)

Contrafreeloading (CFL) refers to animals' tendency to prefer obtaining food through effort rather than accessing food that is freely available. Researchers have proposed various hypotheses to explain this intriguing phenomenon, but few studies have provided a comprehensive analysis of the...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Bird, Parrot

Citation: Tao, Y., Zhu, Y.-T., Li, H. et al. 2025. Contrafreeloading and its influencing factors in budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus): Implications for their feeding and welfare. Animal Welfare 34, e21

Effects of access to a well-resourced environment on dairy calf cognition and affective state (2025)

Dairy calves are often raised without maternal contact and in environments of low complexity. Environments that limit natural behaviors are known to impair cognitive development and affective states. We explored the effect of environmental complexity on one measure of social...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Cattle

Citation: Suchon, M., Weary, D. M., Keyserlingk, M. A. G. von. 2025. Effects of access to a well-resourced environment on dairy calf cognition and affective state. PLOS ONE 20(5), e0323089.

The importance of novel and cognitive enrichment for captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and the use of activity budgets and social network analysis to assess welfare (2025)

I introduced foraging enrichment with a cognitive component to a group of six captive adult chimpanzees living at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo in Dunstable in the United Kingdom. I conducted preliminary behavioural observations for 13 days spread over a four week...

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

Citation: Stitt, A. E. 2025. The importance of novel and cognitive enrichment for captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and the use of activity budgets and social network analysis to assess welfare. Canopy 25(2).

Early-life environmental enrichment promotes positive animal welfare for juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in aquaculture research (2025)

Early life experiences have long-lasting effects on behaviour and physiology, influencing development of adaptive natural behaviours. Enriching farmed environments encourages expression of natural behaviours in captive fish, promoting positive animal welfare, important for conducting valid and reproducible research and informing...

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

Citation: Prentice, P. M., Chivite Alcalde, M., Císař, P. et al. 2025. Early-life environmental enrichment promotes positive animal welfare for juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in aquaculture research. Scientific Reports 15(1), 5828.

A guide for junior technicians: The importance of giving the correct amount of nesting in a mouse IVC and the benefits of an enriched cage (2025)

During our experience of working on the breeding floor of the University of Cambridge's Anne McLaren Building, we have recognised the importance of giving the correct amount of nesting and the benefits of additional enrichment.

Year Published: 2025Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Pitcher, L., Stringer, A. 2025. A guide for junior technicians: The importance of giving the correct amount of nesting in a mouse IVC and the benefits of an enriched cage. Animal Technology and Welfare 24(1), 65–66.

Dairy calves provided with environmental enrichment are more active, playful and have fewer feeding interruptions (2025)

Concerns for farm animal welfare have led to the use of environmental enrichment to stimulate natural behaviours and promote positive emotions. In cattle, the provision of brushes is sometimes recommended but their use in calves and the effects they may...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Cattle

Citation: Occhiuto, F., Vázquez-Diosdado, J. A., Thomas, M. et al. 2025. Dairy calves provided with environmental enrichment are more active, playful and have fewer feeding interruptions. Scientific Reports 15(1), 4241.

The development and use of a cage-topper to enhance rat welfare (2025)

The welfare of rats used in scientific research is an important concern. Recent studies show that larger, more complex housing improves rat welfare compared to standard conventional cages. However there are typically both practical and financial constraints to implementing this....

Year Published: 2025Topics: Environmental Enrichment, HousingAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Neville, V., Phelon, L., Handley, C. et al. 2025. The development and use of a cage-topper to enhance rat welfare. Animal Technology and Welfare 24(1), 35–38.