The RSPCA/UFAW Rodent Welfare Group holds a one-day meeting every autumn so that its members can discuss current welfare research, exchange views on rodent welfare issues and share experiences of the implementation of the 3Rs...
In the animal facility, a range of different sounds are present. On the one hand, rats and humans will regard sound and noise differently even within the audible range, but on the other hand mice...
Blood sampling is one of the most common procedures performed on laboratory animals as part of scientific research. As an ongoing commitment, our institution has identified a need to improve the current blood sampling method...
Cage change is one of the unavoidable routines in laboratory rodent care. However, cage change disrupts the rodents’ olfactory environment and can evoke stress reactions. In this study, the short-term cardiovascular responses to three different...
Our previous study showed that pair housing with a familiar male prevented an increase in anxiety caused by social defeat in male rats. The present study attempted to identify the aspects of social interactions with...
The tubes provide shelter and nesting material to the rats, allowing them to exhibit species-specific behaviors. The change in the animals' behavior has been overwhelming. The rats are much less aggressive; in one year, fight...
Although loud noise and intense vibration are known to alter the behavior and phenotype of laboratory animals, little is known about the effects of nearby construction. We studied the effect of a nearby construction project...
A well-known example for gene x environment interactions in psychiatry is the one involving the low activity (s) allelic variant of the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) promoter polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) that in the context of stress increases...
Offering enrichment to stimulate chewing behavior in rats has been found to promote psychologic and physiologic wellbeing. While there are many commercially produced nylon products available for use as chewable enrichment, these items are costly...
Although the effects of environmental enrichment on laboratory rodents have been extensively described, it is not yet known whether these effects were simply due to the presence of multiple items in the cage or due...