Training using positive reinforcement is increasingly recognised as a valuable tool for the humane and effective management and use of laboratory-housed non-human primates. We utilised a mixed-mode questionnaire to survey use of training and other learning processes (socialisation, habituation and desensitisation) in over half of UK establishments using and breeding primates. The survey demonstrated that there is widespread awareness of training as a refinement technique and appreciation of its diverse benefits, but training is not used as widely or as fully as it might be. This is due to real constraints (principally staff and time and a lack of confidence in ability to train), and perceived constraints (such as a supposed lack of published information on how to train and assessment of the benefits, and an overestimation of the time investment needed). There is also considerable variation between establishments in the purposes of training and techniques used, with a reliance on negative reinforcement in some. We conclude that there is opportunity for refinement of common scientific, veterinary and husbandry procedures (such as blood and urine collection, injection, capture from the group and weighing) through use of positive reinforcement training, especially when combined with appropriate socialisation, habituation and desensitisation. We end this paper with recommendations on best practice, training techniques and staff education.

Husbandry training and environmental enrichment are both important advancements associated with current behavioural welfare practices. Additionally, the use of training procedures has been proposed as a form of enrichment, with the implication that training can produce beneficial behavioural welfare results. This paper examines the concept of training as enrichment through three distinct ways training procedures could enrich: (i) training facilitates enrichment usage; (ii) training modifies interactions, conspecific or otherwise; and (iii) training expands behavioural repertoires. Within each category, the paper focuses on past research that provides empirical support for training functioning as enrichment, as well as related areas of research that provide additional evidence. Previous studies support the claim that training is enriching, with additional research necessary to better understand how prevalent and under what conditions training procedures function as enrichment. Future training research should examine these potential enrichment effects, including methodology that allows for comparisons to traditional enrichment, the use of welfare diversity/variability indices, and the effects of learning on trainers and trainees alike.

Quarante-cinq femmes, membres du personnel infirmier de l’Assistance publique, ont été interrogées après une de leurs journées de travail. L’entretien, semi-structuré, comprenait 6 questions portant sur la fatigue, les satisfactions, les contrariétés, les entraves au travail normal, les déceptions, la tristesse. Les sentiments négatifs sont majoritaires (82,4%). Ils comportent au premier plan: la fatigue (20,4%), l’includence (21,1%), la solitude (12%), les soucis techniques (9,2%), le sentiment de désorganisation (8,5%). Les sentiments positifs sont rares (8,5%). Les gratifications proviennent des malades (49%) et des collègues (32,7%). Les souhaits, peu exprimés, vont dans le sens d’une meilleure communication avec les supérieurs. L’ensemble de ces éléments évoque un état d’esprit dépressif. Cette situation paraît liée à l’isolement du personnel et au manque de renforcement des tâches. Des solutions sont proposées: information et coordination plus attentives, reconnaissance du travail accompli au sein des équipes.