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Animal Welfare

Environmental enrichment and its role in animal welfare

Environmental enrichment and its role in animal welfare


1. Concept of environmental enrichment 2. Definition of environmental enrichment 3. Conditions and constraints for environmental enrichment 4. Development of enrichment techniques 5. Characteristics of intensive husbandry systems 6. Examples of effective environmental enrichments 7. Prolonged feeding time 8. New objects to play as environmental errichment 9. Operant conditioning as environmental enrichment 10. Effects of environmental enrichment - an example 11. Some additional remarks on enrichment 12. Literature

Environmental enrichment and its role in animal welfare

1. Concept of environmental enrichment


1. Farm animals are usually kept in an artificial environment which is substantially impoverished in stimuli and barren as compared to a natural environment 2. For good welfare, animals should have possibilities to perform their innate natural behaviours.

Basic needs and requirements (food, water, shelter etc.) are usually fulfilled in animal husbandry, however, higher vertebrates have also some psychological needs related to exploration and coping with their environment (Poole, 1992) Proper stimulation from environment is necessary for fulfilment of all animal needs.
Environmental enrichment and its role in animal welfare

2. Definition of environmental enrichment


Environmental enrichment is an animal husbandry principle that seeks to enhance quality of captive animal care by identifying and providing the environmental stimuli necessary for optimal psychological and physiological wellbeing. (Shepherdson, 1998)

Environmental enrichment and its role in animal welfare

3. Constraints of environmental enrichment


1. It is crucial to understand that not all changes in the environment will provide environmental enrichment and stimulate animals even if the new environment will become fairly complex. 2. Due to environmental enrichment the behaviour of animals must be more natural and their well-being must improve.

Environmental enrichment and its role in animal welfare

4. Development of enrichment techniques


1. Enrichment techniques were developed in the last twenty years mainly for the zoo animals in response to critical opinions on poor husbandry and housing conditions of wild animals in captivity.
2. Technical solutions for environmental enrichment result from studies on biology and behaviour of animals, also studies of animals living in their natural habitats.

Environmental enrichment and its role in animal welfare

5. Characteristics of intensive husbandry systems:


1. 2. 3. 4. 5. barren environment overcrowding or isolation of animals no possibility to explore surroundings no necessity to search for food boredom and frustration of animal

These factors lead to abnormal behaviours in form of: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. stereotyped behaviour, bar biting or object eating / licking, feather pecking, tail biting crossucling etc.)

Environmental enrichment and its role in animal welfare

6. Examples of effective environmental enrichments


1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Adding new objects to complexify the environment and stimulate Animal activity such as play, exploration and exercise. Providing extra space per individual. Providing new substrate for manipulation. Preparing enriched food enabling eating with an exploration and play. 6. Providing special places for comfort acts (e.g. post for scratching). 7. Enabling contact with the conspecifics or even individuals from other species. 8. Intensifying contact with the caretaker.

Environmental enrichment and its role in animal welfare

6. Examples of environmental enrichment


1. In growing pigs successful technique of enrichment turned out to be also using extra space with the new substrate for manipulation. (Beattie et al., 1995) In laying hens the enriched food was used in the shape of small spherical objects placed in the feed trough (Sherwin, 1995). They were invented to stimulate more natural foraging in hen. Stabled horses may suffer from isolation from the conspecifics. Therefore, the stable design enabling visual and tactile contact between horses is desired. Alternatively, placing mirrors in stables may be used. (Mc Greevy, 2004)

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Environmental enrichment and its role in animal welfare

7. New objects to play as environmental enrichment


1. For example, in dairy calves living in highly impoverished environment several devices were used: toys, plastic balls, smooth chains, calf lollies and a Braden bottle with calf starter feed. (Morrow-Tesch, 1995)

2. The study of enrichment preference deliver information what objects animals prefered as environmental enrichment. 3. The calves for example prefer devices rewarding them with food (Braden bottle) and providing substitute for sucking (toys).
Environmental enrichment and its role in animal welfare

8. Prolonged feeding time


Special devices were designed for the farm animals to prolong feeding time and provide oportunity for oral activity.
The well-known device is football or Edinburgh football for pigs. (Young, 1995). This device was designed as a spherical object with food container dispensing food when manipulated in certain way. In this way, the behaviour of pig was rewarded with small pieces of food. As a result the prolonged pig feeding activity is achieved, which is important for an animal with strong needs for exploration This device somehow modified was also used with domestic horse. (Young, 1995)

Environmental enrichment and its role in animal welfare

9. Operant conditioning as environmental enrichment


1. A possibility to develop operant conditioning (e.g obtaining food reward in response to given behaviour) is also a good environmental enrichment.

2. The rewarding schedule should enable the most effective reinforcement of the behaviour. Therefore, time, space of rewarding and the quantity of food should be randomized. (Young, 1995)
Environmental enrichment and its role in animal welfare

10. Effects of environmental enrichment - an example


1. Experiments carried out on pigs show that indirect effect of enrichment on production parameters and on the management could be significant. 2. Due to providing extra space and the substrate for manipulation for pigs:
1. The dominance was correlated with body weight, but not with aggression. 2. There was good development of cognitive abilities. 3. There was more frequent locomotory behaviour and longer exploration. (Beattie et al., 1995, O`Connell and Beattie, 1999, Smeldon et al., 2000).

Environmental enrichment and its role in animal welfare

11. Some additional remarks on enrichment


1. Environmental enrichment is not ready made. In each case its application needs careful planning, preparation and evaluation. 2. Some kinds of environmental enrichment can be ignored by animals 3. There could be considerable individual differences between animals in their reaction to enrichment depending on species, breed and individual life experience. 4. Improvement of animal behaviour is not always accompanied by significant productivity gain .

Environmental enrichment and its role in animal welfare

12. Literature
1. 2. 3. 4. Beattie V.E., Walker N., Smeddon I.A., 1995: Effect of environmental enrichment on behaviour and productivity of growing pigs. Animal Welfare 4, 207-220. Mc Greevy P., 2004: Equine Behavior.Saunders, Edinburgh, London ,New York, Oxford, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Sydney, Toronto. Morrow-Tesch J., 1995: Effect of environmental enrichment on group-housed dairy calves. The Second International Confernece Environmental Enrichment, Copemhaven, 299-307. O`Connell N.E., Beattie V.E., 1999: Influence of environmental enrichment on aggressive behaviour and dominance relationship in growing pigs. Animal Welfare, 8, 269-279. Poole T., 1992: The nature and evolution of behavioural needs in mammals. Animal Welfare 1, 203-220 Shepherdson D.J., 1998: Tracing the path of environmental enrichment in zoos. [In:] Second Nature. Environmental Enrichment for Captive Animals.D.J. Shepherdson, J.D. Mellen and M. Hutchins (eds) Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington and London. Sherwin C.M., 1995: Environmental enrichment for laying hens: Spherical objects in the feed tgough. Animal Welfare, 4,41-51. Smedden I.A., Beattie V.A., Dunne I., Neil W., 2000: The effect of environmental enrichment on learning in pigs. Animal Welfare,9, 373-383. Weeks C.A., Nicol C.J., Sherwin C.M., Kestin S.C., 1994: Comparison of the behaviour of broiler chickens in indoor and free range environment. Animal Welfare, 3, 179-192. Young R.J., 1995: Designing environmental enrichment devices around species-specific behaviour. The Second International Confernece Environmental Enrichment, Copemhaven, 195-204.

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Environmental enrichment and its role in animal welfare

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