Institutional Social Housing and Environmental Enrichment Policy
IACUC Policy: 055-03, Effective Date: 04/19/2019, Last Revision: 04/18/2025
Overview/Purpose
Social housing and environmental enrichment are addressed at the level of the individual housing area due to the size and scope of the program at The Ohio State University. This policy will describe how social housing and environmental enrichment are addressed within the program and will describe programmatic exceptions to social housing.
Definitions
- Environmental Enrichment: The provision of structures and resources that facilitate the expression of species-typical behaviors and promote psychological well-being through physical exercise, manipulative activities, and / or cognitive challenges according to species-specific characteristics
- Social Enrichment: Appropriate social interactions among members of the same species (conspecifics) or compatible species.
- SOP: Standard Operating Procedure
- SMP: Standard Management Plan
Requirements
- Environmental enrichment plans for animals owned and housed at The Ohio State University should be included in the associated SOP or SMP for that respective housing facility.
- Enrichment will be provided per facility SOP or SMP unless exempted by the IACUC in the approved animal use protocol due to scientific reasons or per an OAV veterinarian for clinical reasons.
- Social animals are to be housed in stable pairs or groups unless:
- Scientific justification is provided in an IACUC approved Animal Use Protocol
- An OAV veterinarian exempts an animal for health or behavioral reasons (requires documentation)
- The animal is recovering from surgery, up to 72 hours, unless extended by an OAV veterinarian for clinical reasons. Longer periods must be justified in an approved Animal Use Protocol
- Females may be singly housed when visibly pregnant
- Adult boars, stallions, and male rabbits are not considered social animals and may be housed singly
- A single animal remains from a cohort due to: attrition of cage/pen mates, separation due to aggression, last remaining experimental cohort, single animal ordered, or no compatible cohort to be paired with at time of weaning. Note: regrouping of singly housed adult male mice frequently leads to an increased incidence of fighting and is therefore discouraged for most strains.
- Additional enrichment must be provided for singly housed animals unless exempted for scientific or veterinary reasons.
- Enrichment may be withheld for animals housed in metabolic caging due to its potential interference with data collection.
Revision History
- 055-00 – new policy approved 04/19/2019
- 055-01 – reviewed and approved 04/15/2022
- 055-02 – reviewed and added programmatic exception to metabolic caging, approved 01/17/2025
- 055-03 – clarified withholding enrichment for metabolic caging used and approved in protocols. Also added note for regrouping male adult mice; Approved 04/18/2025
Article ID: 45
Created: May 20, 2024
Last Updated: May 21, 2025
Online URL: https://ohiostateresearch.knowledgebase.co/article/institutional-social-housing-and-environmental-enrichment-policy-45.html