Environmental Enrichment

Includes structural, behavioral, food, and auditory enrichment.

Rossi, A. P., dos Santos, C. R. C., Maia, C. M. et al. 2023. Rescued cats prefer to scratch fabrics commonly used to cover upholstered furniture. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 26(3), 313–324.

Preference responses of cats for scratching fabrics commonly used on furniture were evaluated during four consecutive days in three Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) that rescue companion animals. Cats were grouped and their choices were registered at...

Rørvang, M. V., Schild, S.-L. A., Wallenbeck, A. et al. 2023. Rub ‘n’ roll – Pigs, Sus scrofa domesticus, display rubbing and rolling behaviour when exposed to odours. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 266, 106022.

Pigs are regarded as having a highly developed sense of smell, although scientific information on the topic is sparse. Here, we describe two behaviours unexpectedly observed in a study assessing pigs’ responses to odours and...

Radical, A., Normando, S., Ponzio, P. et al. 2023. The effects of the addition of two environmental enrichments on the behavior and fecal cortisol levels of three small felids species (Caracal caracal, Leptailurus serval

Scientific evidences support the fact that environmental enrichment, when effective, can affect the behavior of animals in captivity in a way suggestive of an improvement in their quality of life. In the internationally published literature...

Okabe, K., Fukuizumi, H., Kawamura, A. et al. 2023. An investigation of browsing enrichment, especially non-leaf foraging, on giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) at Kyoto City Zoo in Japan. Zoo Biology 42(1), 157–161.

Browsing enrichment may aid in developing species-specific behaviors for giraffes managed in zoos as a means of improving animal welfare. By nature, giraffes are tree-feeding animals, including tree bark, but the extent of food other...

Neville, V., Lind, J., Mendl, E. et al. 2023. A mapping review of refinements to laboratory rat housing and husbandry. Lab Animal 52(3), 63–74.

Refining the housing and husbandry of laboratory rats is an important goal, both for ethical reasons and to allow better quality research. We conducted a mapping review of 1,017 studies investigating potential refinements of housing...

Neville, V., Hunter, K., Benato, L. et al. 2023. Developing guidelines for pet rat housing through expert consultation. Veterinary Record 192(3), e1839.

Background Pet care guidelines play an important role in ensuring that owners are well informed about good husbandry practices, allowing them to provide the best care for their animals. However, the development of such guidelines...

Libonate, S. T., Suchak, M. 2023. Predictors of the use of enrichment items in colony housed shelter cats. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 26(3), 300–312.

Colony rooms provide cats with many opportunities to use enrichment, but animal shelters usually have finite resources to provision items. This study examined how cats select enrichment items when given a variety of options. Our...

Lavery, J. M., Mason, G. J. 2023. Mirror, mirror on the wall… How tank material and the presence of “enrichments” affect competition and agonism in zebrafish (Danio rerio). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 266, 106005.

Despite generations of rearing in a laboratory environment, zebrafish (Danio rerio) retain innate preferences for environmental features that mimic their natural habitat (e.g. plants and gravel), but the effects of such preferred housing conditions on...

Kitchenham, L., MacLellan, A., Paletta, P. et al. 2024. Do housing-induced changes in brain activity cause stereotypic behaviours in laboratory mice? Behavioural Brain Research 462, 114862.

Abnormal repetitive stereotypic behaviours (SBs) (e.g. pacing, body-rocking) are common in animals with poor welfare (e.g. socially isolated/in barren housing). But how (or even whether) poor housing alters animals’ brains to induce SBs remains uncertain...

Kim, J., Lee, J., Kang, K. et al. 2023. Effects of sling belt provision on behaviour, skin lesions, and salivary cortisol level in growing pigs after transport and regrouping. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 269, 106116.

The provision of enrichment material has been widely recommended to mitigate stress and minimise aggressive behaviour as well as enhance the welfare of pigs after transport and regrouping. In this study, we assessed the effects...

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