Includes structural, behavioral, food, and auditory enrichment.
The overall benefits of an enrichment and exercise program for research canines has been well documented and is a required element, by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), of any institution’s Animal Care and...
Implementation of the 3Rs (Replacement, Refinement and Reduction) in animal studies is a legal requirement in many countries. In The Netherlands, animal welfare officers (AWOs) are appointed to monitor the welfare of laboratory animals. As...
Currently, enrichment consists of a variety of plastic toys to promote natural behaviors, but why use artificial devices when you could use natural materials like the animals experience in their native environment? ... From these...
Enrichment can be a key element in stress reduction in domestic dogs in both pet and kennel environments. However, providing enrichment to laboratory dogs can be a means for injury or ingestion of objects. Devices...
Enrichment devices and strategies, as currently endorsed by the Guide, are used to improve laboratory animal health and wellbeing. Many conclusions supporting this premise, however, are based primarily on observational studies with minimal consideration for...
Dry bedding has been shown to be an effective enrichment strategy for small groups of captive nonhuman primates housed in cages or in small enclosures with concrete flooring. However, dry bedding is used infrequently for...
One of our Non-Human Primate's (NHP) favorite enrichment devices is a hanging rope toy. The toy is made up of natural jute rope 12 to 14 inches in length and 3 inches in girth. The...
This NHP puzzle feeder was designed and manufactured with the assistance of a local metal fabricating company. The need for a custom feeder arose following the use of several types of commercially available NHP puzzle...
Stereotypic behaviors are common in captive primate colonies, and it would be beneficial to know effective methods of remediation, and which animals are most likely to express the behavior. The first goal of this research...
This study addresses a recommendation in The Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals to provide singly housed nonhuman primates with intermittent access to large, enriched (play) caging. Research on the potential benefits...