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 physical activity and group size on animal welfare in laboratory rats
The aim of this study was to investigate whether moderate physical activity and group size influence physical fitness, the level of social interactions in the home cage and rats’ performance in the Elevated Plus Maze and a handling test. Forty-eight male Sprague Dawley rats were kept in groups of two, four or eight for seven […]
A new method of walking rehabilitation using cognitive tasks in an adult chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) with a disability: a case study
There are few studies of long-term care and rehabilitation of animals which acquired physical disabilities in captivity, despite their importance for welfare. An adult male chimpanzee named Reo at the Primate Research Institute of Kyoto University, developed acute myelitis, inflammation of the spinal cord, which resulted in impaired leg function. This report describes a walking […]