This study explored the influence of five toys (squeaky ball, non-squeaky ball, Nylabone chew, tug rope and Boomer ball) on the behaviour of 32 adult dogs housed in a rescue shelter. The dogs were exposed to each toy separately for six days, with an intervening period of one day between toys. The dogs' location in their kennels (front or back), activity (moving, standing, sitting or resting) and vocalisation (barking, quiet or other) were recorded over 4 h at 10 min intervals on Days 1, 3 and 5 during a control condition (no toy present) and during five experimental (toy) conditions. Whether or not the dogs were observed playing with the toys during the experimental conditions was also recorded. The dogs spent relatively little (<8%) of the overall observation time playing with the toys. The toys elicited varying degrees of interest, with dogs showing a preference for the Nylabone chew over the other toys. The dogs' interest in the toys waned over time, but the speed of habituation to the Nylabone chew was slower than to any of the other toys. The dogs' activity was significantly related to toy condition: dogs spent more time moving and less time standing during the Nylabone chew, squeaky ball and non-squeaky ball conditions than during any of the other conditions. It is suggested that the welfare of kennelled dogs may be slightly enhanced by the addition of suitable toys to their kennels. It is advised, however, that toys are rotated to encourage exploration and reduce habituation. The provision of other forms of environmental enrichment is also recommended.

Various tools have been developed over previous years to study the welfare of laboratory animals. These include preference tests, which are commonly used to evaluate housing environments. Preference tests, however, have some pitfalls: they supply information only on the animals’ present preferences, and they allow the animal the choice only between the options offered. Other methods based upon the collection of clinico-chemical data require handling of the animals, which can be stressful in itself. An alternative may be to use telemetry to measure the changes in physiological parameters caused by different environmental conditions. The aim of this study was to use telemetry to evaluate the short-term impact of housing conditions on rodents. We monitored heart rate, blood pressure and body temperature in rats kept on three different types of flooring — bedding, grid floors and plastic floors. The study revealed significant differences in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate and body temperature between rats housed in the three conditions, indicating that both grid floors and plastic floors are more stressful for the animals than bedding. The observed differences did not diminish over the two-week observation period. The grid-floor housing induced elevations in blood pressure and heart rate. Blood pressure remained elevated even when the animals were returned to standard bedding, whereas the heart rate declined back to its original value immediately in response to this shift. This study shows that telemetry is a very effective tool but that it needs integrating with other methods: in addition, a greater understanding of the biological significance of the changes in cardiovascular parameters is required before the hypothesis that these changes represent an indication of distress can be accepted.

Visitors to zoos can be a potential source of stress to captive-housed primates, resulting in increased abnormal behaviour and intra-group aggression. Finding a way to screen primates from human visitors may be one method of decreasing stress and enhancing animal welfare. For this study, the behaviour of six zoo-housed gorillas was studied for one month during standard housing conditions (control condition) and for a further month following the installation of a camouflage net barrier to the viewing area of the exhibit (barrier condition). Visitors’ (n = 200) perceptions of the animals and the exhibit were also recorded during each condition. The net barrier had a significant effect on some components of the gorillas’ behaviour. The gorillas exhibited significantly lower levels of conspecific-directed aggression and stereotypic behaviours during the barrier than the control condition. The net barrier also had a slight effect on visitors’ perceptions both of the animals and of their exhibit. The gorillas were considered to look more exciting and less aggressive during the barrier than the control condition. The exhibit was also considered to be more appropriate for visitors following the introduction of the camouflage netting. Overall, the addition of a screen such as camouflage netting could be considered a positive change, resulting in a reduction in those behaviours typically induced by large groups of visitors and an improvement in public perceptions of the animals and their environment.

One million pet rabbits are kept in The Netherlands, but there are no data available on their behaviour and welfare. This study seeks to assess the welfare of pet rabbits in Dutch households and is a first step in the development of a welfare assessment system. In an internet survey, housing systems, general up-keep and behaviour of pet rabbits were reported by their owners. The answers of 912 respondents were analysed with behavioural observations carried out on 66 rabbits in as many households. The rabbits were observed in their home cage and during three fear-related tests: a contact test, a handling test and an open-field test. The survey revealed that the average lifespan of the rabbits is approximately 4.2 years (the maximum potential lifespan is 13 years) and solitary housing appears to reduce lifespan. Close to half of respondents subjected their rabbit(s) to solitary housing and the majority housed them in relatively small cages (< 5,000 cm2). Health risks may arise from a failure to inoculate rabbits and via inappropriate diet. During the contact test, solitary-housed rabbits made more contacts with a human than group-housed rabbits and rabbits in a small housing system made more contacts than those in a large system. Observations in the home cage differed greatly compared with the natural time budget of rabbits, ie displaying increased stereotypic behaviour and decreased foraging and, in solitary-housed rabbits, a complete lack of social behaviour. Nearly 25% of rabbits displayed strong resistance to being picked up, indicating socialisation problems. During the open-field test, solitary-housed rabbits sat up more than social-housed rabbits suggesting increased fearfulness. These findings indicate that the conditions in which pet rabbits are kept often have a negative impact on their welfare, further underlining the need to study this in greater detail.

Since the release of the revised Appendix A from the Council of Europe for housing of laboratory animals there have been claims that laboratory animals should be housed under more complex conditions; known popularly as enrichment. A number of studies have expressed concerns that this may increase uncontrollable variation in the animals, thereby creating the need for greater numbers of animals. Within neurobiology there would appear to be a scientific basis for such concern. However, even though this may be used as an argument for denying the animal environmental enrichment, it is unclear whether there is any basis for concern within other research areas. The aim of this study, therefore, was to explore whether clinical pathology and cardiovascular parameters were influenced by housing rats under environmentally enriched conditions. Male, Sprague-Dawley rats were housed under three different regimes: non-enriched, standard-enriched (according to the guidelines of the Council of Europe) and extra-enriched with a shelf and higher cages. All housing forms were based upon commercially available, standardised equipment. A total of 41 different parameters were monitored via clinical pathology, telemetry and coagulation tests and virtually no differences were observed in relation to the manner in which the rats were housed. The uncontrollable variation observed in our study was compared to within-strain variation data supplied from the breeder and was relatively low in all three types of housing. We conclude, based upon our studies in male, Sprague-Dawley rats, that so far there is no basis for concern that enriched housing will lead to increased group sizes when using animals for research within this field and, as such, there is no reason not to enrich the environment of such rats.

Carcass traits and meat quality of rabbits reared in conventional cages (0.385 m2), small pens (0.662 m2) or large pens (4.052 m2) at a similar stock density of 15 rabbits/m2 were compared (n = 30 per group). Pens contained an elevated platform. Slaughter weight (SW; P < 0.01) and cold carcass weight (P < 0.05) decreased in the order of Cage < Small pen < Large pen groups. SW and cold carcass weight were 7% lower in rabbits housed in large pens than in cages. Dressing out and meat-to-bone ratio were not influenced by the housing system. Percentage of fat deposits was highest in caged rabbits (+0.15 point for scapular fat and +0.26 point for perirenal fat compared to rabbits reared in large pens P < 0.05). Rabbits housed in large pens had a bigger proportion of hind part (+1 point), and meat colour was shifted towards greater a* values (P < 0.01) compared to caged rabbits. Water holding capacity and shear test parameters in longissimus lumborum muscle, lipid content and shear test parameters of abductor cruralis cranialis, biceps femoris and semitendinosus muscles were not affected by the housing system. Tibia and femur bone moment of inertia increased in the order of Cage < Small pen < Large pen groups (P < 0.05), whereas elastic modulus, which is a measure of intrinsic stiffness, was highest in caged rabbits. This study showed that large pen housing altered carcass traits independently and increased meat redness and fracture resistance of tibia and femur.

During the later 20th century, France experienced a dramatic turn around in the quality of its housing. The current cohort of older people witnessed and lived through the transformation. Most people aged over 50 years in France are homeowners and almost one-in-four own a second home. Although the oldest age groups are much less residentially mobile than younger people, home moves are more likely around the age of retirement or widowhood. In recent years, new forms of residential mobility in later life have been emerging. These include a weakening of the commonly observed pattern of a permanent drift away from cities and towns towards areas of childhood origin or family connections. One current trend suggests a preference for preserving residential links with areas of relatively high population density and good access to amenities, coupled with being able to spend time elsewhere, whether in second homes, in children's and grandchildren's homes, or elsewhere. The arrival of the post-1945 baby-boom cohort at retirement has begun, and this may increase the current level of residential mobility and lead to more diverse types, although the change will depend on the development of the housing market as well as residential preferences in old age.