Laboratory birds: refinements in husbandry and procedures
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GPS determination of walking rates in captive African elephants (Loxodonta africana)
The movements of elephants in captivity have been an issue of concern for animal welfare activists and zoological professionals alike in recent years. In order to fully understand how movement rates reflect animal welfare, we must first determine the exact distances these animals move in the captive environment. We outfitted seven adult female African elephants […]
A survey of elephant husbandry and foot health in North American zoos
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.20291.abs The foot health of elephants in human care is a longstanding concern. In 2001, the AZA Standards for Elephant Management and Care were published recommending husbandry to improve foot health. This article reports the results of a 2006 survey: basic statistics describing facility, husbandry, and foot health attributes are reported and relationships among […]
Preference and demand for exercise in stabled horses
Operant conditioning and two choice preference tests were used to assess the motivation of horses to be released from straight and from box stalls. The motivations for food, a companion, and release into a paddock were compared when the horses had to work for each commodity at increasing fixed ratios of responses (panel presses) to […]
Effects of Access to Voluntary Wheel Running on the Development of Stereotypy
Stereotyped motor behaviors are a common consequence of environmental restriction in a wide variety of species. Although environmental enrichment has been shown to substantially reduce stereotypy levels, the various components of enrichment have not been evaluated independently to determine which is responsible for this effect. Exercise, particularly voluntary wheel running, is a promising candidate based […]
Intensity of play behavior as a potential measure of welfare: A novel method for quantifying the integrated intensity of behavior in African elephants
To the authors’ knowledge there is currently no discrete index to measure the integrated intensity of a play bout in mammals, despite the potential for using intensity and duration of play bouts as a measure of physical activity and welfare. This study was developed to test an equation that quantified the intensity and duration of […]
Restricted vs. unrestricted wheel running in mice: Effects on brain, behavior and endocannabinoids
Beneficial effects of voluntary wheel running on hippocampal neurogenesis, morphology and hippocampal-dependent behavior have widely been studied in rodents, but also serious side effects and similarities to stereotypy have been reported. Some mouse strains run excessively when equipped with running wheels, complicating the comparability to human exercise regimes. Here, we investigated how exercise restriction to […]
Dietary management, husbandry, and body weights of African elephants (Loxodonta africana) during successful pregnancies at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Successful pregnancy in African elephants is influenced by biological and environmental factors. For managed elephants many of these factors are set directly or indirectly by their human care takers, including nutrition and husbandry. While African elephants often struggle to conceive and produce healthy offspring under human care, Disney’s Animal Kingdom (DAK) has effectively managed six […]
Acupuncture Needle Stimulation on Some Physiological Parameters After Road Transport and Physical Exercise in Horse
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of acupuncture (AG) treatment on some hematochemical parameters in five Thoroughbred horses after road transport and exercise. Horses competed in two official races. For each race, animals were transported from their stables to the racetrack. Horses transported and competed in the first race represent the […]
The effects of kennel size and exercise on the behaviour and stress physiology of individually-housed greyhounds
Greyhounds are routinely bred and managed for racing and are usually housed in individual kennels. To address the question of whether greyhounds would benefit from an increase in the minimum kennel size specified in the Victorian Code of Practice, the effects of kennel size and routine exercise on dog behaviour, stress physiology and injuries were […]