Special housing arrangements

This chapter addresses the practical aspects affecting the welfare of animals held in special housing. It describes the types of containment systems currently in use and discusses their use with individual species together with suggested methods for optimising welfare. Enrichment should be designed to increase an animal’s number and range of normal behaviours, decrease abnormal behaviours, increase interaction with the environment and enhance its ability to cope with behavioural and physiological challenges imposed by housing within specialised environments. Protective clothing may impact on animal welfare in a number of ways. Individually ventilated cages are capable of providing good air change rates and environmental conditions when working well. The risks associated with handling of the primates are controlled by a strict regime whereby animals are sedated by injection before any handling or removal from the cage. Young piglets can be housed in flexible film isolators, but will outgrow limited accommodation within a few weeks to months.