Housing

Partial cage division significantly reduces aggressive behavior in male laboratory mice

Aggression in mice often results in injury leading to unplanned euthanasia or the initiation of protocols to isolate animals, thereby increasing research costs and straining resources. Here, we tested if adding a partial cage divider into existing mouse cages affected...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Environmental Enrichment, HousingAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Tallent, B. R., Law, L. M., Rowe, R. K. et al. 2018. Partial cage division significantly reduces aggressive behavior in male laboratory mice. Laboratory Animals 52(4), 384 - 393.

Use of a translucent refuge for Xenopus tropicalis with the aim of improving welfare

Xenopus tropicalis is an increasingly important animal model in a variety of biological research fields. In many countries legislation exists to promote and increase welfare wherever possible, including the ability to view animals during daily husbandry with minimal stress to...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Environmental Enrichment, HousingAnimal Type: Amphibian, Frog & Toad

Citation: Cooke, G. M. 2018. Use of a translucent refuge for Xenopus tropicalis with the aim of improving welfare. Laboratory Animals 52(3), 304-307.

Breeding zebrafish: A review of different methods and a discussion on standardization

In recent years, a rapidly increasing number of scientific papers have been published that utilize zebrafish (Danio rerio) as an alternative model organism in the study of a wide range of biological phenomena from cancer to behavior. This is, in...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Housing, Husbandry & Management, ReproductionAnimal Type: Fish, Zebrafish

Citation: Tsang, B., Zahid, H., Ansari, R. et al. 2017. Breeding zebrafish: A review of different methods and a discussion on standardization. Zebrafish 14(6), 561-573.

Color preference in Danio rerio: Effects of age and anxiolytic treatments

Zebrafish are increasingly used in neurobiological and behavioral studies. Possible stimuli to manipulate zebrafish behavior are being investigated. The presentation of colors appears to be one of the most used approaches, but there is much debate about the exact color...

Year Published: 2016Topics: HousingAnimal Type: Fish, Zebrafish

Citation: Peeters, B. W. M. M. , Moeskops, M., Veenvliet, A. R. J. 2016. Color preference in Danio rerio: Effects of age and anxiolytic treatments. Zebrafish 13(4), 330-334.

Evaluating and optimizing fish health and welfare during experimental procedures

Many facilities house fish in separate static containers post-procedure, for example, while awaiting genotyping results. This ensures fish can be easily identified, but it does not allow for provision of continuous filtered water or diet. At the Wellcome Trust Sanger...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Housing, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Fish, Zebrafish

Citation: Goodwin, N., Westall, L., Karp, N. A. et al. 2016. Evaluating and optimizing fish health and welfare during experimental procedures. Zebrafish 13(S1), S127-S131.

A meta-analysis on the effects of the housing environment on the behaviour, mortality, and performance of growing rabbits

Although the number of rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) produced in Europe is important, they are under-represented in welfare research. Studies on the effects of housing conditions have focused on performance and mortality. We conducted a meta-analysis to further understand the impact...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Rabbit

Citation: Sommerville, R., Ruiz, R., Averós, X. 2017. A meta-analysis on the effects of the housing environment on the behaviour, mortality, and performance of growing rabbits. Animal Welfare 26(2), 223-238.

Radiographic examination of keel bone damage in living laying hens of different strains kept in two housing systems

A high prevalence of deviations and fractures of the keel bone is a widespread welfare problem in laying hens. The aim of this study was to experimentally investigate this multifactorial problem throughout the laying period and to compare the prevalence...

Year Published: 2018Topics: HousingAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Eusemann, B. K., Baulain, U., Schrader, L. et al. 2018. Radiographic examination of keel bone damage in living laying hens of different strains kept in two housing systems. PLOS ONE 13(5), e0194974.

Preference index supported by motivation tests in Nile tilapia

The identification of animal preferences is assumed to provide better rearing environments for the animals in question. Preference tests focus on the frequency of approaches or the time an animal spends in proximity to each item of the investigated resource...

Year Published: 2017Topics: HousingAnimal Type: Fish, Tilapia

Citation: Maia, C. M., Volpato, G. L. 2017. Preference index supported by motivation tests in Nile tilapia. PLOS ONE 12(4), e0175821.

Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) prefer and are less aggressive in darker environments

Fish are capable of excellent vision and can be profoundly influenced by the visual properties of their environment. Ambient colours have been found to affect growth, survival, aggression and reproduction, but the effect of background darkness (i.e., the darkness vs....

Year Published: 2016Topics: HousingAnimal Type: Fish, Salmon

Citation: Gaffney, L. P., Franks, B., Weary, D. M. et al. 2016. Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) prefer and are less aggressive in darker environments. PLOS ONE 11(3), e0151325.

Differences in anticipatory behaviour between rats (Rattus norvegicus) housed in standard versus semi-naturalistic laboratory environments

Laboratory rats are usually kept in relatively small cages, but research has shown that they prefer larger and more complex environments. The physiological, neurological and health effects of standard laboratory housing are well established, but fewer studies have addressed the...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Environmental Enrichment, HousingAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Makowska, I. J., Weary, D. M. 2016. Differences in anticipatory behaviour between rats (Rattus norvegicus) housed in standard versus semi-naturalistic laboratory environments. PLOS ONE 11(1), e0147595.