Thirty years later: enrichment practices for captive mammals

Abstract

Environmental enrichment of captive mammals has been steadily evolving over the past thirty years. For this process to continue, it is first necessary to define current enrichment practices and then identify the factors that limit enhancing the quality and quantity of enrichment, as well as the evaluation of its effectiveness. With the objective of obtaining this information, an international multi-institutional questionnaire survey was conducted with individuals working with zoo-housed mammals. Results of the survey showed that regardless of how important different types of enrichment were perceived to be, if providing them was particularly time-consuming, they were not made available to captive mammals as frequently as those requiring less staff time and effort. The groups of mammals provided with enrichment most frequently received it on average fewer than four times per day, resulting in less than two hours per day spent by each animal care staff member on tasks related to enrichment. The time required for staff to complete other husbandry tasks was the factor most limiting the implementation and evaluation of enrichment. The majority of survey respondents agreed that they would provide more enrichment and carry out more evaluation of enrichment if it was manageable to do so. The results of this study support the need for greater quantity, variety, frequency, and evaluation of enrichment provided to captive mammals housed in zoos without impinging on available staff time.

Putting the “E” in SPIDER: Evolving Trends in the Evaluation of Environmental Enrichment Efficacy in Zoological Settings

“…Several authors have pointed to the value of keeper-conducted behavioral observations but noted the challenges of collecting behavioral data within a daily keeper schedule (Canino & Powell, 2010;Hoy, Murray, & Tribe, 2010a;Margulis & Westhus, 2008;Quirke & O'Riordan, 2013;Shyne, 2006). The 60-min median observation session duration in the studies reviewed here is quite a long period to fit within a keeper's routine.…”

“…The 60-min median observation session duration in the studies reviewed here is quite a long period to fit within a keeper's routine. Hoy et al (2010a) conducted a survey regarding enrichment for captive mammals; their respondents were 238 professionals from 60 zoos in 13 countries. Respondents reported that while they considered the provision of different kinds of enrichment (e.g., feeding, structural, social, auditory) to be important, only those modalities that were least time-consuming for the staff were frequently provided.…”

An Inventory of Peer-reviewed Articles on Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) with a Comparison to Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

“…The most recent movement within animal welfare, and the viewpoint adopted here, focuses on the definition of welfare as the promotion of well-being across three broad aspects: physical health, psychological health, and naturalistic behaviors (Fraser, 2009;Maple, 2007;Swaisgood, 2007). Ultimately, determinations of welfare depend on supporting well-being and require a knowledge of health and physiology, cognition, and social interactions, of animals both in their natural habitat and in managed care (Baumans & Van Loo, 2013;Carlstead, Mench, Meehan, & Brown, 2013;Chua, Weary, Van Delen, & Coenen, 2002;Greenwald & Dabek, 2003;Hoy, Murray, & Tribe, 2010;Kuczaj, Makecha, Trone, Paulos, & Ramos, 2006;Pomerantz & Terkel, 2009;Walker, Diez-Leon, & Mason, 2014;Whitham & Wielebnowski, 2013).…”

“…These changes have led to improvements in the welfare of laboratory animals (e.g., mice, rats, guinea pigs, gerbils, rabbits, dogs, cats, non-human primates) and a variety of animals housed at zoos through cognitively and behaviorally enriching activities and changes in their physical environments and social groupings (Baumans & Van Loo, 2013;Hoy et al, 2010;Whitham & Wielebnowski, 2013). For example, by observing the behavioral responses to different enrichments (e.g., devices, social partners, lights, noises, or food), researchers better understand the importance of environmental preferences, species differences, and individual differences when determining the welfare needs of animals in managed care (Baumans & Van Loo, 2013;Chua et al, 2002;Greenwald & Dabek, 2003;Hoy et al, 2010;Pomerantz & Terkel, 2009).…”

“…For example, by observing the behavioral responses to different enrichments (e.g., devices, social partners, lights, noises, or food), researchers better understand the importance of environmental preferences, species differences, and individual differences when determining the welfare needs of animals in managed care (Baumans & Van Loo, 2013;Chua et al, 2002;Greenwald & Dabek, 2003;Hoy et al, 2010;Pomerantz & Terkel, 2009). Without sufficient research in these domains appropriate welfare regulations are difficult to construct.…”