Abstract
Environmental enrichment is an integral part of animal care practices. Enrichment generally refers to items we provide to the animals to support their behavioral needs. It provides a way to functionally simulate the natural environment of captive animals, in an effort to increase opportunities for the expression of species-specific behaviors and decrease the occurrence of abnormal behaviors. Further, enrichment can also be a tool in the study of basic science questions, such as how environmental factors may affect disease etiology or progression. In this chapter, we will examine the use of enrichment in both applied and basic science contexts; as a welfare tool and as an experimental model.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Animal Models for the Study of Human Disease |
| Publisher | Elsevier |
| Pages | 75-94 |
| Number of pages | 20 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9780124158948 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9780124159129 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 1 2013 |
Keywords
- Animal welfare
- behavioral management
- enrichment
- positive reinforcement training
- psychological well-being
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Medicine
- General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology