ENRICHMENT & ANIMAL WELFARE
What is Enrichment and Why is it Important?
Enrichment is a variable process for enhancing animal environments based on behavioural biology and natural history. Enrichment should be dynamic, responsive, offer varied choices, and promote engagement in species-appropriate behaviours, therefore enhancing an individual’s welfare.
Enrichment includes challenges and stimulation which is appropriate for that species, and individual. Goal-oriented, purposeful enrichment which encompasses strategies spanning all five enrichment categories will yield the best welfare outcomes. Enrichment provision is not the simple addition of ‘things’ given to an animal, but instead should focus on behavioural goals and environmental interaction.
What Should Enriched Environments Do
- Promote feelings of comfort and security by providing safe zones.
- Encourage physical activity resulting in excellent physical fitness.
- Facilitate socialisation as appropriate for the species.
- Provide opportunities for problem solving through cognitive and behavioural challenges.
Enrichment is NOT a Substitute
Enrichment is fundamental to positive welfare but cannot be a substitute for inappropriate enclosure designs, poor or unvaried feeding regime, inadequate healthcare, or other management activities that compromise animal welfare. Enrichment should not be considered as something ‘extra’ done when there’s extra time, but instead is part of the daily provision of care for captive animals.
Key Points of Enrichment
Change
If something in the environment changes, it creates opportunities for animals to learn, think, and respond to fresh, dynamic and engaging environments. Changes should encompass the five enrichment categories and be rotated to avoid habituation.
Opportunity
Change provides opportunity for animals to investigate, make decisions, and express their emotions about the environment as a whole. The opportunity to exercise agency and behave in response to an engaging and enriched environment is crucial for positive welfare.
Choice
Enrichment provides choices which promote rewarding natural behaviours including foraging, thermoregulation, and natural locomotion patterns. Animals can be provided with a sense of control and autonomy through environments which encourage exploration, interaction, novelty and decision making.
Enrichment Programme Development
Enrichment should be holistic, allowing animals to interact and engage with their environments. It's NOT just about food and toys!
A comprehensive enrichment programme is behaviour-based, goal-directed and designed for the individual animals and species. It should include clear objectives and yield an appropriate interaction between the animals and their environments. Comprehensive enrichment programmes have requisite elements to assure goals are met in a safe, interactive environment. This will enhances animal welfare through creating optimal opportunities for behavioural, mental and physical health, and physical fitness. Enrichment programmes should be planned, documented and regularly reviewed.
Enrichment Resources
Enrichment Road Map
The Wild Welfare enrichment road map, created in conjunction with Wild Enrichment, is a FREE enrichment planning tool that guides you through the entire process of developing and assessing animal enrichment provision. It is currently available to Download in English and in the following 22 languages:
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E-Learning Programme
To learn more about enrichment, you can access our FREE animal welfare online learning programme “Wild About Welfare”, which has an entire module dedicated to topic of enrichment.
5 Categories of Enrichment
Considering these five enrichment categories can be beneficial when planning the most effective way to provide various types of enrichment to achieve different goals. We use the 5 Categories of Enrichment developed by our friends at The Shape of Enrichment. Balance the types of enrichment used against an individual’s preferences and the species’ requirements to achieve objectives and keep enrichment strategies fresh and engaging for the animals. Please note the 5 Categories are not mutually exclusive, meaning an enrichment strategy may fall into more than one category.
Physical Environment
Physical environment encompasses all aspects of the enclosure, including pathways, resting and nesting/den sites, structures for moving around, through, and on, permanent and changeable features, substrates, and climate gradient choices.
Pathways for climbing and traveling; change regularly to keep interesting
Multiple levels expand useable space, promote appropriate behaviours, and provides a great view.
Substrate piles of earth, sand, or snow can allow animals to dig or create resting places to lie in.Sensory Enrichment
Sensory Enrichment includes tactile, auditory, visual and should consider other specialised sensory modalities used by a species. Olfaction and taste are included here but primarily used in the "feeding" category seen below
A variety of foliage provides tactile enrichment for the snake to interact with and experience different sensations.
Trees can provide a complex sensory experience, from varied textures for scratching to diverse smells; engaging multiple senses simultaneously.
Wind chimes can be activated by the animals themselves, providing auditory stimulation and control.Social Enrichment
Social enrichment must consider the natural history and behavioural biology of the species while meeting an individual's needs. Is the species always in a social group, seasonally solitary, territorial, or associating with other species? Does the individual have appropriate social behaviours? Satisfying the drive for social interaction is fundamental to good welfare.
Species may have strict hierarchical social structures and group dynamics which are important considerations for optimal welfare.
Social grooming/preening is an important behaviour which can maintain group dynamics, alleviate stress and promote hygiene.
The opportunity to rest and feed together for social species is a fundamental aspect of good welfare.Cognitive Enrichment
Cognitive enrichment encourages animals to think and use their mental faculties; it includes novel experiences, active learning such as a new behaviour during positive reinforcement training (PRT), and problem solving. It should be challenging, but not frustrating, and strategies must evolve as individuals gain proficiency with tasks.
PRT promotes active mental engagement to learn a new behavior, like this ray learning to swim onto a stretcher.
The stump puzzle feeder provides stimulating foraging opportunities which engages tactile probing behaviours.
Coatis are very intelligent species and enrichment devices can encourage problem solving and active learning.Feeding Enrichment
How you feed an animal is just as important as what you feed them. You can ask yourself what behaviours that animal would naturally undertake and how to replicate that through enrichment. Remember that for captive carnivores, hunting is so much more than the act of killing, and most elements of a hunt aside from the actual kill can be replicated through enrichment.
Hanging feeders can promotes problem solving, increases feeding time, and encourages natural dexterity.
Frozen ice blocks can be a versatile way to present food in a novel way while also introducing thermoregulation options.
Many fish species naturally spend time searching for food in their environments. Feeders mimic this behaviour, allowing expression of naturalistic instincts.Take a look at Hose2Habitat’s website for ideas on how to use old hoses to address all 5 Categories of Enrichment
Enrichment Safety
Always consider the safety of animals and staff before starting an enrichment programme.
- When first introducing new enrichment – ensure enrichment is added to an enclosure slowly to avoid fights or nervousness.
- Consideration must be given to the age of the animal – consider enrichment that accommodates age-appropriate needs and considers individual needs too.
- Be careful when choosing novel foods for enrichment – dietary enrichment consisting of inappropriate food can lead to tooth decay, obesity, allergic reactions, impaction, diarrhoea, choking or aggression from other animals.
- Always observe new enrichment objects when being used – objects, if broken, can produce sharp edges that can cut animals.
- Plants or parts of plants may be toxic to animals – prior treatment of plants with pesticides or fire retardant chemicals can be toxic – so all plants must be assessed for natural or man-made toxicity before being used.
- Be safe at all times – adding enrichment items may put a keeper in a compromised situation if the appropriate due diligence is not followed. The safety of both staff and animals is paramount.
- Provide enough enrichment – avoid aggression or injuries by providing enough enrichment for all the animals in the group. Consideration must be given to social groupings and hierarchy.
- Animals should have daily, weekly, monthly and even annual enrichment schedules – plan and document enrichment so that activities can be continually enhanced and improved.
To learn more about enrichment or for help developing bespoke enrichment programmes at your facility CONTACT US.