Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-g7gxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T16:52:00.916Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Juvenile farmed mink (Mustela vison) with additional access to swimming water play more frequently than animals housed with a cylinder and platform, but without swimming water

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2023

CM Vinke ,
J van Leeuwen  and
BM Spruijt
CM Vinke*
Affiliation:
Ethology and Animal Welfare Group, Department of Animals, Science & Society, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, PO Box 80166, 3508 TD Utrecht, The Netherlands
J van Leeuwen
Affiliation:
Ethology and Animal Welfare Group, Department of Animals, Science & Society, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, PO Box 80166, 3508 TD Utrecht, The Netherlands
BM Spruijt
Affiliation:
Ethology and Animal Welfare Group, Department of Animals, Science & Society, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, PO Box 80166, 3508 TD Utrecht, The Netherlands
*
* Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints: [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The opportunity to perform play behaviour may be an important ontogenic activity that stimulates behavioural variability and may enhance an individual's coping capacity later in life. Play behaviour in juveniles may be enhanced by the presence of cage enrichments relevant to the animal's motivations and natural behavioural repertoire. The present study aimed to investigate play behaviour in juvenile farmed mink reared and housed with the cage enrichments standard for the Dutch housing system (ie a cylinder and platform) and in an experimental group of animals with the same standard enrichments but with additional access to swimming water. Juvenile mink with access to swimming water played significantly more in the main cage than mink reared and housed with the cylinder and platform but without swimming water. The results suggest that swimming water presents the animals with biologically relevant stimuli that directly or indirectly influence the development of play behaviour. Specific implications for the animals' long-term welfare are discussed. Future studies should elucidate the effects of juvenile play on the occurrence of abnormal behavioural patterns in adulthood more precisely and more thoroughly.

Keywords

animal welfarecoping capacityenrichmentminkneedsplay behaviour
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 14 , Issue 1 , February 2005 , pp. 53 - 60
Copyright
© 2005 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

References

Bakken, M, Braastad, B, Harri, M, Jeppesen, LL and Pedersen, V 1994 Production conditions, behaviour and welfare of farm foxes. Scientifur 18: 233–248Google Scholar
Bekoff, M and Beyers, JA 1998 Animal Play: Evolutionary, Comparative and Ecological Perspectives. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UKCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Broom, DM and Johnson, KG 1993 Stress and Animal Welfare. Chapman and Hall: London, UKCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dunstone, N 1993 The Mink. T and AD Poyser: London, UKGoogle Scholar
Fagen, R 1981 Animal Play Behaviour. Oxford University Press: New York, USAGoogle Scholar
Grier, JW and Burk, T 1992 Biology of Animal Behaviour, 2nd Edition. Mosby Year Book Inc: Missouri, USAGoogle Scholar
Hall, FS 1998 Social deprivation of neonatal, adolescent, and adult rats has distinct neurochemical and behavioural consequences. Critical Reviews in Neurobiology 1: 129–162CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hansen, CPB and Jeppesen, LL 2001 Swimming activity of farm mink (Mustela vison) and its relation to stereotypies. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section A — Animal Science 51(1): 71–76Google Scholar
Hansen, SW 1988 Effect of variable cage size and lack of admission to nest box on the behaviour, physiology and production of mink kits. In: Murphy BD and Hunter DB (eds) Biology, Pathology and Genetics of Fur-Bearing Animals pp 153-162. (Unpublished proceeding of the IVth International Scientific Congress on Fur Animal Production, Toronto, Canada)Google Scholar
Hansen, SW 1998 The cage environment of the farm mink — significance to welfare. Scientifur 22(3): 179–185Google Scholar
Hansen, SW, Hansen, BK and Berg, P 1994 The effect of cage environment and ad libitum feeding on the circadian rhythm, behaviour and feed intake of farm mink. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section A — Animal Science 44: 120–127Google Scholar
Hansen, SW, Hansen, BK and Damgaard, BM 1992 The effects of cage environment on the welfare of mink. Norwegian Journal of Agricultural Sciences 9: 536–544Google Scholar
Hinton, HE and Dunn, AMS 1967 Mongooses: Their Natural History and Behaviour. Oliver and Boyd Ltd: London, UKCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jeppesen, LL, Heller, KE and Dalsgaard, T 2000 Effects of early weaning and housing conditions on the development of stereotypies in farmed mink. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 68: 85–92CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jonasen, B 1987 Ontogeny of mink pups. Scientifur 11(2): 109–110Google Scholar
Kuby, F 1982 Über die Verhaltensontogenese von Farmnerze (Mustela vison F. Dom.) in Großgehege. PhD Thesis, Veterinary Medicine, Tierärztliche Hochschule, Hannover, Germany [Title translation: The ontogeny of farmed mink (Mustela vison F. Dom.) in a semi-natural housing system]Google Scholar
Lehner, P N 1996 Handbook of Ethological Methods. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UKGoogle Scholar
Mason, GJ, Cooper, JJ and Clarebrough, C 2001 Frustrations of fur-farmed mink. Nature 410: 35–36CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McCune, S 1992 Temperament and the welfare of caged cats. PhD Thesis, University of Cambridge, UKGoogle Scholar
Morgan, MJ 1973 Effects of post-weaning environment on learning in the rat. Animal Behaviour 21: 429–442CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nimon, AJ and Broom, DM 1999 The welfare of farmed mink (Mustela vison) in relation to housing and management: a review. Animal Welfare 8: 205–228Google Scholar
Siegel, S and Castellan, N 1988 Nonparametric Statistics, 2nd Edition. McGraw-Hill: New York, USAGoogle Scholar
Siviy, SM 1998 Neurobiological substrates of play behaviour. In: Bekoff, M and Beyers, JA (eds) Animal Play: Evolutionary, Comparative and Ecological Perspectives pp 221–242. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UKCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Skovgaard, K, Jeppesen, LL and Hansen, CPB 1997a Would you like to swim, Madam mink. Scientifur 21(4): 247–251Google Scholar
Skovgaard, K, Jeppesen, LL and Hansen, CPB 1997b The effect of swimming water and cage size on the behaviour of ranch mink (Mustela vison). Scientifur 21(4): 253–260Google Scholar
Špinka, M, Newberry, RC and Bekoff, M 2001 Mammalian play: training for the unexpected. The Quarterly Review of Biology 76(2): 141–168CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
van den Berg, CL 1999 Play Deprivation, Long-Lasting Consequences of Juvenile Isolation in Rats; Involvement of Opioid Systems. PhD Thesis, University of Utrecht. Ponsen & Looijen BV: Wageningen, The NetherlandsGoogle Scholar
van den Berg, CL, Hol, T, Everts, H, Koolhaas, JM, van Ree, JM and Spruijt, BM 1999 Play is indispensable for an adequate development of coping with challenges in the rat. Developmental Psychobiology 34(2): 129–1383.0.CO;2-L>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
VanderSchuren, LJMJ, Spruijt, BM, Hol, T, Niesink, RJ and van Ree, JM 1995a Sequential analysis of social play behavior in juvenile rats: effects of morphine. Behavioral Brain Research 72(1–2): 89–95CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
VanderSchuren, LJMJ, Stein, EA, Wiegant, VM and van Ree, JM 1995b Social play alters regional brain opioid receptor binding in juvenile rats. Brain Research 680(1–2): 148–156CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vinke, CM, Eenkhoorn, CN, Fermont, PCJ, Netto, WJ and Spruijt, BM 1998 Invoering van het Plan van Aanpak Nertsenhouderij. Effecten op het gedrag van de nerts in verschillende seizoenen gemeten op zes nertsenhouderijen. Rapportage van een voortgangsanalyse. Utrecht University, The Netherlands. [Title translation: Implementation of the Dutch Housing System for farmed mink. Effects on the behaviour of mink as measured in different seasons and on six commercial Dutch mink farms. A Progress Report]Google Scholar
Vinke, CM, Eenkhoorn, CN, Netto, WJ, Fermont, PCJ and Spruijt, BM 2002 Stereotypic behaviour and tail biting in farmed mink (Mustela vison) in a new housing system. Animal Welfare 11: 231–245Google Scholar