What Are Some Stereotypes About The Animal Sheltering World?

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Stereotypies are one of the most commonly used indicators of poor welfare in zoo animals and there is no doubt that they are indeed very useful. The motivation of stereotypies is complex and probably varies with the type of stereotypy that is considered. In general, however, it appears that both stress and the inability to perform some important species-specific behaviours contribute to the development of stereotypies.

Welfare assessment: general principles

Animate being welfare can exist assessed by the use of indicators, i.e. of variables that can be measured objectively. Welfare indicators are divided into two groups: environment-based and creature-based indicators.

Environment-based indicators include the size and design of facilities where animals are kept, the quantity and quality of food they receive, the temperature at which they are exposed, etc.; in short, environment-based indicators are variables that are not measured in the animals simply in their environment.

Animal-based indicators can exist grouped into iv main categories:

• Indicators related to the behaviour of animals.
• Indicators related to the appearance of animals.
• Physiological indicators.
• Indicators obtained from the records of zoological institutions, such every bit the life expectancy of animals and the prevalence and incidence of diseases.

Stereotypies are 1 of behavioural indicators nearly commonly used to assess the welfare of zoo animals.

Stereotypies: definition and classification

Stereotypies are defined in two ways:

• Repetitive, invariant behaviour without apparent immediate function.
• Repetitive behaviours caused by the animal'southward repeated attempts to adapt to its environment or by a dysfunction of the central nervous organization.

Both definitions agree that stereotypies are repetitive behaviours. The second definition, still, includes behaviours that despite beingness repetitive are not always performed in exactly the same manner. Moreover, it does not assume that stereotypies lack a functional role; this is peculiarly relevant because it has been suggested that some stereotypies could facilitate the adaptation of animals to an unsuitable environment.

According to the repetitive movements performed past the beast, the post-obit stereotypies have been described in mammals:

• Locomotory stereotypies, including pacing and like behaviours.
• Oral stereotypies, including repetitive movements with the tongue or repeatedly biting an object.
• Repetitive movements of the whole body without the animal moving from one place to some other. This category would include, for example, a stereotypy sometimes shown by primates that consists of the animal moving its body backwards and forward while seated.
• Excessive grooming, leading sometimes to hair loss and dermatitis.

Carnivores kept in zoos may develop pacing behaviour. Stereotypies such equally pacing are one of the behavioural indicators about frequently used to assess the welfare of zoo animals.

The nearly common stereotypies vary co-ordinate to the taxonomic group. Thus, the nigh common stereotypies in carnivores are locomotory stereotypies while ungulates normally develop oral stereotypies. Furthermore, within the same taxonomic group there may exist important differences between species in the kind of stereotypies they perform and sometimes these differences appear to be related to some aspects of the natural history of the species.

Causes of stereotypies

The motivation of stereotypies is complex and probably varies with the type of stereotypy that is considered. In general, however, information technology appears that both stress and the inability to perform some important species-specific behaviours contribute to the development of stereotypies.

Oral stereotypies in captive wild ungulates appear to exist acquired, at least partly, past the inability to perform normal foraging behaviour. In some domestic herbivores, digestive acidosis may contribute to the onset of oral stereotypies when animals are fed a diet rich in concentrate and poor in fodder.

The motivation of locomotory stereotypies of carnivores is not known with certainty and is likely to event from the combination of several factors. Some studies suggest that lack of space is important, while others indicate to the inability to perform the normal behaviour of the species every bit the main cause. In carnivores, pacing is more common in those species that usually travel long distances in the wild.

There are differences betwixt individuals of the same species in their trend to develop stereotypes when kept in an unsuitable environs. Most likely, these individual differences are due to both genetic and environmental factors. In relation to environmental factors, it has been suggested that a stressful surround in the early stages of postnatal development of the animal causes permanent changes in the CNS, which results in turn in a greater predisposition to develop stereotypies for the remainder of the animal's life.

Moreover, learning tin be involved in the appearance of stereotypies. Specifically, the presence of other animals that accept already adult a stereotypy could in some cases increase the likelihood that individuals who exercise not yet bear witness stereotypies somewhen develop them.

Stereotypies every bit animal welfare indicators

Stereotypies are 1 of the nearly commonly used indicators of poor welfare in zoo animals and there is no uncertainty that they are indeed very useful. Despite this, and in order to avert hasty conclusions about the welfare of a detail animal, it is interesting to recall the following facts:

• If an beast performs a stereotypy over a long period of time, it may become "established" i.east., it becomes a permanent feature of the animate being's behaviour. Consequently, there is always the possibility that an animal that shows stereotypical behaviour is in an adequate environment and the stereotypy has been "inherited" from a previous inappropriate environs.
• Stereotypies may announced equally a event of a learning process and in this case may non be indicative of a lack of welfare, at least in the animal that has "copied" the stereotypy.
• Finally, there are individual differences in the predisposition to prove stereotypies

References

• Broom DM and Johnson KG (1993) Stress and animal welfare. Chapman & Hall, London.
• Bricklayer Thousand J (2003) Captivity effects on wide-ranging carnivores Nature 425: 473-474. 2003.
• Stonemason G J and Latham Northward R (2004) Can't stop, won't stop: is stereotypy a reliable beast welfare indicator? Animal Welfare 13: S57-S69. 2004.
• Stonemason K J (2006) Stereotypic behaviour in captive animals: fundamentals and implications for welfare and beyond EN: Stonemason Thou J and Rushen J (Eds.) Stereotypic Animal Behaviour. Fundamentals and Applications to Welfare, 2ª Ed. CAB International, Wallingford.
• Rushen J and Mason G J (2006) A decade-or-more's progress in understanding stereotypic behaviour EN: Bricklayer G J and Rushen J (Eds.) Stereotypic Beast Behaviour. Fundamentals and Applications to Welfare, 2ª Ed. CAB International, Wallingford.

Source: https://www.zawec.org/en/fact-sheets/44-stereotypies-as-animal-welfare-indicators

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