Publikationsdatenbank

Environmental enrichment prevents pup mortality in laboratory mice (2018)

Art

Zeitschriftenartikel / wissenschaftlicher Beitrag

Autoren

Leidinger, Charlotte S

Thöne-Reineke, Christa (WE 11)

Baumgart, Nadine

Baumgart, Jan

Quelle

Laboratory animals

Bandzählung: 53

Heftzählung: 1

Seiten: 53 – 62

ISSN: 0023-6772

Sprache

Englisch

Verweise

URL (Volltext): https://bib.vetmed.fu-berlin.de/pubdb/pub/23567-environmental-enrichment-prevents-pup-mortality-in-laboratory-m/

DOI: 10.1177/0023677218777536

Pubmed: 29788793

Kontakt

Institut für Tierschutz, Tierverhalten und Versuchstierkunde

Königsweg 67
14163 Berlin
+49 30 838 61146
tierschutz@vetmed.fu-berlin.de

Abstract / Zusammenfassung

Early death of mouse pups is a commonly known problem in breeding mice colonies, which is still often regarded as 'normal' or is even overlooked due to the counting procedures applied. As reduced breeding performance probably indicates reduced well-being, this seems to be an underestimated welfare issue in laboratory mouse breeding. The present study compares the influence of three different forms of enrichment in breeding cages on infant survival rate and development of C57BL/6J mice. Our data reveal that lack of enrichment results in greater preweaning pup mortality, reduced weight and delayed development. Changing the environmental conditions after birth cannot prevent litter loss but improves the development of pups born in impoverished environments. Overall, our results underline the importance of early counting of mice for optimizing refinement strategies to ensure well-being and breeding success.