Testing Environmental Enrichment
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True or false Environmental enrichment is a concept that tries to help animals to redress the difference between the environment that they evolved to be in compared with the 1 they find themselves in captivity There are lots of differences between captivity and the wild environment which can pose challenges to animal functioning on welfare and environmental enrichment can help
True
What is Swaisgood & Shepherdson 2005’s definition of environmental enrichment?
Environmental enrichment = Catchall term for husbandry activities with the specific aim of improving welfare
What context does Swaisgood & Shepherdson 2005’s environmental enrichment definition fit in?
Zoo contexts
What is Patterson-Kane 2003’s definition of environmental enrichment?
Environmental enrichment = An increase in complexity or naturalness of the environment with the goal of improving welfare
What context does Patterson-Kane 2003’s environmental enrichment definition Fit in?
Lab animals
What is Newbury 1995’s environmental enrichment definition?
Environmental enrichment = An improvement in the biological functioning of captive animals resulting from modification to their environment
What is Will et al 2004’s environmental enrichment definition?
Environmental enrichment = Environmental conditions which, in comparison to standard housing conditions, provide enhanced possibilities of physical and social stimulation and/or interaction
What are the 2 main types of environmental enrichment?
1) Naturalistic enrichment 2) Occupational enrichment
What are naturalistic enrichments?
Naturalistic enrichments mimic stimuli that would be found naturally in the environment of a wild conspecific or ancestral species
What is occupational enrichment?
Occupational enrichment engages the animal, encouraging beneficial behaviour, without matching the natural environment It’s more about the kind of behaviour or stimulation that the animal is experiencing as a result of an artificial enrichment They should encourage beneficial behaviour even if that behaviour is not actually necessarily natural
True or false You can’t have an enrichment that is a combination of naturalistic and occupational enrichment
False You can get enrichment that is a combination of naturalistic and occupational enrichment
What are the 5 needs and how can environmental enrichment help in acquiring them?
1) Suitable environment Bedding, trees and burrows are an example 2) Suitable diet The diet can be made more suitable by enriching it, both in terms of the presentation and the actual food included 3) Normal behaviour Environmental enrichment can encourage normal behaviour such as foraging or climbing 4) With or apart from other animals Companionship is an example of an enrichment The animal may need safe areas to get away from bullying animals 5) Protection from pain, injury and disease This can be achieved through the use of refuges and shelters
Because environmental enrichment can aid in many different things it is included in some legislation and codes of practice Give 2 examples of this
Home office requirements for lab rats EU ban on battery cages in 2012 in favour of enriched cages
Environmental enrichment helps normalise animal cognition (learning and memory) How does it do this?
Environmental enrichment affects the brain Due to this it can improve learning and memory abilities Environmental enrichment also reverses effects of deterioration in learning caused by: - ageing - certain brain damage - neurodegenerative disorders
What 3 things results from a barren environment?
Physically smaller, lighter brains Reduced brain cell density Reduced functional plasticity
True or false Environmental enrichment reduced Abnormal Repetitive Behaviours
True
What do you need to be aware of when using a environmental enrichment for an Abnormal Repetitive Behaviour?
The success of the enrichment in reducing the Abnormal Repetitive Behaviour depends on what is causing it If the ARB is a scar from past problems enrichment may not have much effect However it may still improve the animals welfare even though it doesn’t actually reduce the ARB
True or false Sometimes things that stop Abnormal Repetitive Behaviours fall under environmental enrichment in terms of being a husbandry or an environmental modified modification that improves biological functioning However they don’t count if they only improve 1 measure of biological functioning or welfare Due to this you need to measure multiple welfare indicators
True
True or false Environmental enrichment can help reduce stress
True
True or false Environmental enrichment can reduce baseline stress by providing safety and comfort
True
How does environmental enrichment reduce stress?
Environmental enrichment can improve the controllability of an animal’s environment Increasing control often reduces stress
True or false Environmental enrichment can improve stress physiology Give examples of this
Reduction in plasma cortisol/corticosterone Long term changes in adrenal gland size
What 4 ways can environmental enrichment improve welfare/functioning through?
1) Reduced specific frustrations 2) Reducing general boredom 3) Reducing loneliness/social stress 4) Increasing health and fitness
True or false Environmental enrichment will never injure or poison the animal
False Bad effects of enrichment might include injury or poisoning, especially as animals may destroy and/or consume the enrichment item