Environmental enrichment: room for reduction?

Environmental enrichment strategies are usually regarded as refinement. However, when the welfare of animals is enhanced through successful enrichment programmes, a reduction in the number of animals needed can be expected, because fewer animals might be lost during the course of experiments. Severa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAlternatives to laboratory animals Vol. 32 Suppl 2; p. 69
Main Authors Van de Weerd, Heleen A, Van Loo, Pascalle L P, Baumans, Vera
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England 01.09.2004
Subjects
Aggression - physiology
Animal Husbandry - methods
Animal Husbandry - standards
Animal Use Alternatives
Animal Welfare
Animals
Animals, Laboratory
Environment, Controlled
Housing, Animal
Mice
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Summary:Environmental enrichment strategies are usually regarded as refinement. However, when the welfare of animals is enhanced through successful enrichment programmes, a reduction in the number of animals needed can be expected, because fewer animals might be lost during the course of experiments. Several examples of studies where enrichment can lead to reduction will be presented. They include the beneficial effects of nesting material for laboratory mice, the effects of husbandry procedures on controlling aggressive behaviour in male laboratory mice, and the effects of enrichment on variation in the results of experiments.
ISSN:0261-1929
DOI:10.1177/026119290403202s14