{"id":64,"date":"2020-01-19T17:28:34","date_gmt":"2020-01-19T16:28:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zoosnippets.com\/?p=64"},"modified":"2021-04-23T23:06:40","modified_gmt":"2021-04-23T22:06:40","slug":"enrichment-evaluation-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zoosnippets.com\/post\/enrichment-evaluation-guide","title":{"rendered":"Enrichment Evaluation Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We all want the best for the animals in our care. To make the environment more challenging, more complex and more stimulating to perform certain behaviours, we use environmental enrichment to achieve these aims. Sometimes, when you use a particular enrichment item to stimulate a specific response, the enrichment will not immediately be used. Does this mean the enrichment attempt has failed? No, not necessarily. It can be that the animal uses the enrichment item mostly in the absence of a keeper and you don’t see its effectiveness. On the other hand, when you use enrichment, and it is used multiple times by the animal, have you then completed your goal? Maybe you give enrichment to stimulate a particular behaviour, and the animal(s) use it to perform another behaviour. Thus, the simple fact that an animal interacted with the enrichment does not indicate that the enrichment item improved its well-being. <\/p>\n\n\n\t\t\t\t

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  1. Why is evaluating enrichment important?<\/a>
  2. How can enrichment be evaluated?<\/a>
  3. What are the aims of your enrichment?<\/a>
  4. Enrichment documentation<\/a>
  5. Enrichment measured and evaluated<\/a>
  6. Readjusting your enrichment<\/a><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\n\n
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    Why is evaluating enrichment important?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Evaluation of enrichment can assist the animal care staff in making decisions whether to continue with the enrichment strategy, make adjustments and improvements, or to discontinue the enrichment initiatives. Previously, and even today, much enrichment is developed on a ‘trial and error’ basis, whereby stimuli are randomly added to an enclosure. Off course, before you start applying enrichment, you have to set aims what you want to achieve with your enrichment effort. But, without the resultant behaviour(s) being observed, it is not clear whether these changes to the animals’ environment have a positive, negative, or indeed, any effect at all. Furthermore, with the limited time zookeepers usually have for enrichment, it mustn’t be wasted on ineffective enrichment. Therefore, since enrichment is provided to enhance the animals’ behavioural welfare, it is vital to know whether it is working and as even importantly, not having the opposite effect and decreasing their well-being. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    How can enrichment be evaluated?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    The evaluation of enrichment is a three-step process, consisting of documenting your enrichment, evaluate this documentation and observer you enrichment initiatives, and readjusting when necessary. How to assess your enrichment is depending on the aim of your enrichment strategy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What are the aims of your enrichment?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Enrichment is done for, and not limited by one, specific reasons. When developing an enrichment plan, these goals need to be specified. These goals can vary per species, per exhibit with multiple species (mixed-exhibits), or even per individual. Frequently used goals for enrichment include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n