Environmental Challenges

Question 1

What are environmental challenges in nature?

Answer 1

Intrinsic and natural.

Question 2

What are environmental challenges in captivity?

Answer 2

• Few or none.
• Too many.
• Good or bad?

Question 3

Why do animals explore?

Answer 3

1. To gather information about the environment necessary for survival.
   - map building
   - habituation
2. To exert control over the environment.
3. Animals voluntarily seek challenges.

Question 4

How does environmental challenges affect behavior?

Answer 4

They are an integral part of behavioral development and well being.

Question 5

What can happen in the absence of environmental challenges?

Answer 5

• May engender apathy.
• An enduring sense of boredom.
• Increased risk of stereotypic behavior.

Question 6

What is the definition of enrichment?

IMPORTANT - KNOW THIS

Answer 6

Environmental enrichment is the alteration of animals’ microenvironments to provide them with the opportunity to perform species-specific behaviors that we perceive as positive, while reducing abnormal behaviors.

Question 7

What happens to animals raised in barren environments?

Answer 7

• Decreased brain weights.
• May be overwhelmed by novelty or change.
• May redirect exploratory behavior on inappropriate objects (tail biting piglets).

Question 8

What happens to animals raised in enriched environments?

Answer 8

• Investigate novel objects more thoroughly.
• Escape from predatory attacks more quickly.
• Have more versatile behavioral repertoires.
• More flexible in dealing with environmental challenges.

Question 9

What are the extremes of environmental stimuli?

Answer 9

• Too little = apathy.

- Too much = fear.

Question 10

What does the effect of environmental stimuli depend on?

Answer 10

Animals previous experiences.

-ex: pigs raised in barren environment may stress and die when overloaded with stimuli during transport.

Question 11

What are the environmental differences between birds raised in enriched environments vs barren environments?

Answer 11

Enriched

• Quicker to approach novel objects.
• Shorter bouts of interaction with object.
• Reduced fear of strangers.

Question 12

What is contrafreeloading?

Answer 12

Animals will work to earn their food even when they can obtain it for free.

Question 13

What abnormal behaviors can a barren environment lead to?

Answer 13

• Sterotypies: repetitive, “functionless” behavior.
• Self-injurious: hair pulling, self biting, mutilation.
• Redirected: lack of foraging opportunity can cause tail biting in pigs.

Question 14

What affect can a barren environment have on the health of an animal?

Answer 14

Diseases of captivity, not seen in the wild.

Question 15

What is stereotypy?

Answer 15

• Persistent, unvarying repetition of seemingly functionless behavior.
• Displayed by over 85 million farm, laboratory and zoo animals worldwide.

ex: pacing polar bear in a zoo.

Question 16

What are the three different types of stereotypy?

Answer 16

1. Oral
   - cribbing in horses.
   - tongue rolling in cattle.
2. Locomotor
   - pacing in confined animals.
   - tail chasing in dogs.
3. Hallucinatory
   - fly biting in dogs.
   - shadow chasing in dogs.

Question 17

What can happen along with stereotypies?

Answer 17

Most (~ 68%) situations that cause stereotypies also decrease welfare.

Question 18

What can happen to non-stereotyping or low-stereotyping individuals in sub-optimal environments?

Answer 18

They could well have have the poorest welfare.

• passive coping: inactive, seen in submissives.
• active coping: active, seen in confident animals.

Question 19

What are stereotypies are warning sign of?

Answer 19

• Potential suffering, but never use as the sole index of welfare.
• non-stereotyping or low-stereotyping individuals should not be overlooked or assumed to be fairing well.

Question 20

What should you not do when addressing stereotypies?

Answer 20

-Assume enrichments are failures if behavior isn’t immediately reduced.
-Try to reduce only with punishment or physical prevention.
~must treat their underlying motivation for behavior.

Question 21

How are stereotypies treated?

Answer 21

• Environment enrichment: preferred treatment.
• Reinforcement of alternative behaviors.
• Genetic selection: high and low fp (feather picking) poultry in 7 to 10 generations.
• Pharmacology: serotonin enhancing drugs, opiate antagonists.
• Punishment: remote, rarely used alone.

Question 22

Sometimes stereotypies cannot?

Answer 22

go away!

Question 23

What is SIB?

Answer 23

Self Injurious Behavior

• hair pulling
• self biting

Question 24

How common is SIB in monkeys?

Answer 24

About 10% of captive, individually-housed monkeys engage in SIB

Question 25

When does SIB occur in primates?

Answer 25

It occurs in emotionally disturbing situations, over which the subject has no control. - approached by fear inducing personnel. - disruption of daily routine. - removal of companion.

Question 26

How is SIB treated?

Answer 26

- Environment Enrichment: social companionship. - Foraging Toys: seen to increase SIB in some studies due to arousal. Decrease motor stereotypies. - Medication: decrease arousal. Interferes with research. Recurrence of behavior.

Question 27

What is redirected behavior?

Answer 27

Normal behavior is thwarted, now behavior is performed on substitute. - tail biting in piglets. - cross sucking in calves. - feather pecking in chickens.

Question 28

How is redirected behavior treated?

Answer 28

1. Management of Animals - problem of captivity. - natural (edinburg pig park) 2. Address Motivation - provide oral stimulation. - straw for piglets. - foraging for chickens. 3. Amputation of Body Part - doesn't address motivation. - tail docking piglets, may bite ears or stump. - beak trimming chickens, prevents damage.

Question 29

What constitutes enrichment?

Answer 29

- Need to know natural behavior for species involved. | - Consider all the senses used by species.

Question 30

Enrichment items are?

Answer 30

- Safe and inexpensive. | - If reusable, should be durable and washable.

Question 31

How should enrichment items be used?

Answer 31

-Appropriate to species specific behavior. ~ex: immobile vs moving carcass for cheetah. -Give time to use. ~if never had enrichment, may be fearful initially. -Rotate. ~some animals habituate to toy & need novelty periodically. -Plentiful if animals housed in groups. ~chimps fought over termite mound.

Question 32

How can you provide enrichment for horses?

Answer 32

- Foraging Opportunities: spread out hay, multiple types of hay, toys. - Social Companionship: can be an unbreakable mirror, or even a goat.

Question 33

How do you provide enrichment for pigs?

Answer 33

-Law in Brittan in 2003, farmers to put a toy in every pigsty or face up to 3 months in jail. -"Environment Enrichment" by providing manipulable material. ~footballs, basketballs, bowling balls. ~chains, straw. -The important thing is to see pigs happy in their environment & they like to forage with their noses.

Question 34

What was the setup for the experiment on enrichment for chickens?

Answer 34

- 2 different types of feeders. - Feed troughs w/o balls or w/ 7 tennis balls to hide feed. - Commercial white leghorn type hens, 4 per cage. - Experimental period from 22 to 32 weeks of age.

Question 35

What was seen in the experiment on enrichment for chickens?

Answer 35

Birds with Balls - more time prefeeding behavior (extension of the neck over the trough, or pecking at the balls). - more time thrusting (pushing other birds aside to eat). - less feather damage 27 weeks, but not at 32 weeks.

Question 36

What was egg production& body weight like in the 2 groups during the experiment on enrichment for chickens?

Answer 36

It was the same.

Question 37

How do you provide enrichment for pet birds?

Answer 37

-T shirt bags, fruit cage, toy box, treat basket. -Cotton spring rope, plastic diamonds, plastic coil, swinging ladder. -Tissue boxes, paperback books, 2x4 untreated. -Foraging ~tree ~rocks in bowls ~move bowls ~skewers ~paper balls

Question 38

How do you provide enrichment for cats?

Answer 38

-Social Companionship (human or conspecific) -Foraging Opportunities ~food balls ~hide food ~fishing for cats -Toys ~paper balls or bags ~ball in bathtub ~wand toys -Scratching Posts & Cat Trees

Question 39

How do you provide enrichment for dogs?

Answer 39

``` -Social Companionship ~play dates, dog parks, scheduled play -Foraging ~food balls, digging pit, treat hunt -Training ~basic, agility, breed dependent ```

Question 40

TV FOR DOGS | What were the 5 types of stimulation used in this experiment?

Answer 40

- Control Condition (no visual stim) - Blank TV Screen - Moving Images of Conspecifics - Moving Images of Interspecifics - Moving Images of Humans

Question 41

TV FOR DOGS | How long was the study done?

Answer 41

4 hours per day for 5 days, with an intervening period of two days between conditions.

Question 42

TV FOR DOGS | What was the outcome?

Answer 42

- Little time looking at tv monitors (10.8%). - Significantly more time looking at moving images vs blank screen. - Images of conspecifics were more likely to attract the dogs to the front of the kennels vs blank screen. - More time spent at front of enclosures. - Interest in all experimental conditions declined over time. - All conditions encouraged significantly less vocalization & movement than control condition.

Question 43

TV FOR DOGS | What was the conclusion drawn from the experiment?

Answer 43

Behavior of kenneled dogs is influenced by visual sitmualtion in the form of tv programs.

Question 44

TOYS FOR DOGS | What were the conditions of this experiment?

Answer 44

- -5 toys were used (squeaky ball, non-squeaky ball, nylabone chew, tug rope, and boomer ball). - Each toy given for six days.

Question 45

TOYS FOR DOGS | What happened during this experiment?

Answer 45

- Spent relatively little time (<8%) of the overall observation time playing w/the toys. - Preference for the nylabone chew over the other toys. - Interest in toys waned over time. - Habituation to nylabone was the slowest.

Question 46

TOYS FOR DOGS | What was the conclusion dram from the experiment?

Answer 46

- Welfare of kenneled dogs may be slightly enhanced by addition of toys to their kennels. - Toys should be rotated to encourage exploration and reduce habituation.

Question 47

How do you provide enrichment for rodents?

Answer 47

- Group Housing - Nesting Material - Red Tinted Nest Box - Wood Blocks - Running Wheel - PVC Pipe - Plastic Balls

Question 48

Why do you provide enrichment for laboratory rodents?

Answer 48

-Stress is a potential variable in studies. ~decreasing variability allows for less animals to be used. ~decreasing variability increases validity of study. -Environmental enrichment can reduce stress in lab rats. -Measurable parameters linked to stress are: ~unstable blood chem ~abnormal organ size (particularly adrenal glands) ~incidence of fighting.

Question 49

Conclusions to Environmental Enrichment

Answer 49

- If animals are kept in captivity, humans are obligated to enhance life. - Enrichment makes for more behaviorally sound animals. - Once abnormal behavior starts, enrichment may not alleviate it.