NOTE: The Environmental Enrichment for Nonhuman Primates Resource Guide may be viewed as one complete publication file [primate1.htm, 270 kb], or as individual chapter files accessible via table of contents below [10 kb to 40 kb]. |
United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service National Agricultural Library ![]() Animal Welfare Information Center NIH Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare |
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Acknowledgements
A Message from OLAW
Introduction
How to Use This Document
U.S. Laws, Regulations, and Policies for Environmental Enhancement for Nonhuman Primates
Organizations and Websites (Updated November 2003
by Kristina Adams)
Primate Centers and Animal Colonies (Updated September
2003 by Kristina Adams)
Listservs (Updated December 2003 by Kristina Adams)
Products and Suppliers (Updated June 2004 by Kristina
Adams)
Audiovisuals
Journals and Newsletters (Updated December 2003 by
Kristina Adams)
Bibliography (January 1992 through December 1998)
Articles from the Animal Welfare Information Center Newsletter
NOTE: The following articles have been approved by USDA for inclusion in the newsletter and are in public domain. Although they have been reviewed editorially, they have not been peer reviewed. The views expressed are those of the authors.
Appendix A: USDA Final Rule on Environment Enhancement to Promote Psychological Well-Being--Section 3.81 (02/15/91 Vol. 56, No. 32, Federal Register, Pages 6426-6505)
National Agricultural Library Document Services
The editor acknowledges the assistance of Nelson Garnett and Carol Wigglesworth of the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare, Viktor Reinhardt of the Animal Welfare Institute, Joanne Oliva-Purdy of the Baltimore Zoo, and Ray Hamel of the Primate In formation Center for their review of this document and useful suggestions. D'Anna Jensen helped with layout. Partial funding for this document comes from National Institutes of Health, Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW), Division of Animal Welf a re.
The National Institutes of Health has demonstrated a long-standing commitment to support AWIC's development of these resource documents. Earlier versions have proved to be beneficial to researchers and Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees as t hey implement the PHS Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and comply with the Animal Welfare Act amendments that require environmental enrichment for nonhuman primates. This updated version will serve as a valuable compilation of litera t ure on environmental enrichment since 1992. The NIH Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare is pleased to have had an opportunity to contribute to the development of this significant resource.
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The Library of Congress defines environmental enrichment as "enhancing the environment of confined animals in order to encourage natural behaviors and improve their quality of life." Environmental enrichment, also called behavioral enrichme n t, includes increasing the complexity of an otherwise unstimulating animal enclosure. This can include adding manipulable objects such as balls or boards for grooming and foraging, novel odors or food, or housing animals in compatible social groups. E n vironmental enrichment is a tool that can be used to improve the animal's psychological well-being by stimulating the ability to cope with daily changes in the social and physical environment, engaging the animal in species-typical behaviors, and reducin g or eliminating maladaptive or pathological behaviors.
Environmental enrichment for nonhuman primates is not a recent concept. Zoo managers have long known about the benefits of a stimulating environment. In 1906, William Temple Hornaday, Director of the New York Zoological Park, encouraged visitors t o come see the gorilla before it dies from "sullenness" and "lack of exercise". He did not expect the gorilla to live more than five months in captivity and relied on regular shipments of wild-caught nonhuman primates to replenish the zoo's stock. Carl Hagenbeck, the animal dealer and zoo director who introduced the world to naturalistic zoo exhibits and positive reinforcement training, wrote in 1910, "In order to keep great apes in sound health, it is necessary to provide them w ith plenty of society, either of their own or of some other. In the case of all animals in captivity, it is of first importance to take measures for combating the tedium from which they would otherwise suffer." (Beasts and Men, page 287). Zoos have since become acutely aware of the importance of environmental enrichment in terms of exhibiting well-adjusted animals to the public, improving breeding of rare species, and as a tool for preparing captive-reared endangered species for reintrodu c tion to the wild.
As nonhuman primates have become models for human and animal health, researchers have realized that a high quality social and physical environment for primates in the laboratory is essential to research. Pioneers in environmental enrichment for labor a tory primates such as Kathryn Bayne, Scott Line, Melinda Novak, and Viktor Reinhardt have demonstrated the value and complexity of enhancing the animal environment given the contexts of biomedical research objectives, species, and individual animal life h istories. They have shown that enriched environments can improve data collection as the data are not confounded by hormonal or behavioral indicators of distress. The research is more humane by reducing pain and distress to the animal and it may actuall y cost less (ie particularly if enriching the environment leads to breeding).
Besides the humane, scientific, and economic reasons to enrich the environment of nonhuman primates, there is now a legal reason. In the 1985 amendments to the Animal Welfare Act, the U.S. Congress required that minimum requirements be established &q u ot;for a physical environment adequate to promote the psychological well-being of primates." The U.S. Department of Agriculture developed regulations to meet that mandate stipulating, "Dealers, exhibitors, and research facilities must develop, document, and follow an appropriate plan for environment enhancement adequate to promote the psychological well-being of nonhuman primates. The plan must be in accordance with the currently accepted professional standards as cited in appropriate profess i onal journals or reference guides, and as directed by the attending veterinarian." (9CFR, Sec. 3.81)
In addition to the Animal Welfare Act, those who receive funding from the Public Health Service or are accredited by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International (AAALAC) must also comply with The Guide f or the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, which is based on a performance standards approach. The Guide contains sections related to environmental enrichment.
There is still a need for information about environmental enrichment for nonhuman primates. Recently published research, organization contacts, websites provide guidance to those who are familiar with nonhuman primate care and use and to those who wish to develop expertise. The topic is of such importance to the animal research community, that the National Research Council covened the Committee on Well-being of Nonhuman Primates to review the literature and produce guidelines. The resulting publication is The Psychological Well-being of Nonhuman Primates (1998, National Academy Press: Washington, D.C. and available on the web at: http://www.nap.edu/catalog/4909.html). USDA, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Office of Animal Care is also reviewing the Animal Welfare Act regulations in order to clarify the regulations and provide guidance to the regulated community.
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This publication updates and expands Environmental Enrichment Information Resources for Nonhuman Primates: 1987-1992. It is current though March 1999 and covers literature published since January 1992. As a resource manual, it is intended t o be used for understanding the current regulations, developing ideas for enrichment applicable to laboratory and zoo settings, and introducing the reader to organizations and publications that can help in the design of the enrichment plan or give access t o additional resources. This expanded version of the 1992 document contains the full text of relevant sections of the legislation, more organizations, websites and listservs, and a listing of all U.S. primate centers.
This resource guide is not comprehensive. There may be organizations that were not included or references that were not apparent in multidatabase searches. With the exception of the laws and regulations, none of the organizations or products mention e d in the document are endorsed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Bibliographic citations are categorized taxonomically and may be cross-referenced in one of the general sections. It is current through December 1998. Although an effort has been made to ensure that articles are unique to each section, there is cons i derable overlap due to the scope of the individual articles. Information about specific techniques, such as the use of foraging boards, may be found in several sections.
Call numbers are included for publications contained in the collection of the National Agricultural Library (NAL). While NAL does not sell audiovisuals or publications from its collection, materials may be borrowed by interlibrary loan. Borrowing in f ormation can be found on the NAL website http://www.nal.usda.gov/services/request.shtml
Please note that organizations often relocate and professional society addresses and contacts change following society elections. All websites and contacts are current as of March 1999.
Animal Welfare Information Center Newsletter articles have been included which discuss some of the issues mentioned in the bibliography. Although the articles have been approved by USDA for inclusion in the newsletter and have been reviewed editiorially, they have not been peer reviewed. The views expressed are those of the authors of the articles and do not represent the views of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or the National Institutes of Health.
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NOTE: The Environmental Enrichment for Nonhuman Primates Resource Guide may be viewed as one complete publication file [primate1.htm, 270 kb], or as individual chapter files accessible via table of contents above [10 kb to 40 kb]. |

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Animal Welfare Information Center, http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/contact.php
http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/pubs/primates/primate2.htm, Updated January 23, 2008