THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY Environmental Enrichment Trial ANU Bioscience Simon Bain Director, Office of Research Integrity, ANU

THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY AEEC Position  January 2008 meeting unanimously moved that all ANU experimental animals would be provided with a degree of environmental enrichment within 2-3 years.  Ie by December

THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY Definitions of Environmental Enrichment  Environmental enrichment is the provision of stimuli which promote the expression of species appropriate behavioural and mental activities  Patterson-Kane (2003): An increase in the complexity or naturalness of an enclosure with the goal of improving animal welfare

THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY Why the Need for Environmental Enrichment (Neuroscience)  Scientific publications indicate that mice in non-enriched cages have impaired brain development, stereotypies, and an anxious behavioural profile.  Are these appropriate subjects for neuroscience investigation

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Environmental Enrichment

THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY Tissue and cereal boxes, egg cartons, or any other box that can be autoclaved Half tunnel

THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY Mouse huts, igloos, cubes, and tunnels

THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY Rodent chew products  Chew blocks Rodent gnaw bone

THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY Australian Code of Practice for the Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes (7 th Ed)  Animal accommodation should be designed and managed to meet species specific needs

THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY Concept of “Biological Relevance”  That only biologically relevant enrichments (those that allow animals to control stressors in there environment) will benefit wellbeing and allow full expression of species specific behaviour

THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY Preference Testing  Mice show strong preferences for cages that provide nesting material and nest building plays a central role in the natural history of wild mice

THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY Thermoregulatory Stability  Monitored by radiotelometry it has been established that the thermoneutral zone for mice ranges between 26c and 34 c  Rome Conference Oct Joe Garner from Purdue demonstrated how nests of appropriate materials provide a thermal compensating mechanism to achieve ambient temperatures that approach thermoneutrality

THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY Empty toilet rolls are cheap, can be autoclaved, mice can hide in them, and chew them.

THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY Nesting Material Shredded paper, tissues, or commercial varieties.

THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY Purdue Study (2008) Home Improvement: C57Bl/6J Mice Given More Naturalistic Nesting Materials Build Better Nests Hess et al. Am Assoc Lab An Sc (2008) Vol 47 No  Looked at a variety of nesting materials to ascertain which nesting material best paralleled natural nest building. Trialled shredded paper strips, facial tissue, and compressed cotton squares. Shredded paper produced high quality nests similar to wild counterparts

THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY Shepherds Cob Plus  Contain Alpha Twists which are minirolls of multi-layered virgin paper cut into short lengths  Capability to provide enrichment which we normally provide to breeding mice in a different form, in a manner that has high biological relevance.

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