(Above) Pig participating in positive reinforcement training. Training an animal to follow a target (ball on stick) makes moving the animals from one kennel to another or onto a scale a much calmer experience.

Much of the research performed at NIH would not be possible without the use of laboratory animals. The Division of Veterinary Resources (DVR) is dedicated to ensuring these special animals have the best possible quality of life while they do their important work. To that end, DVR includes a unique team devoted to the psychological welfare of research animals. DVR’s Animal Behavior and Welfare team is composed of a veterinarian specializing in animal welfare, five full-time behavior management technicians, and one part-time enrichment technician. The main goal of the team is to promote psychological welfare by encouraging the expression of species-typical behavior through:

• Social housing of social species
• Environmental enrichment plans designed for each species (varied and novel foraging opportunities, toys, housing modifications)
• Behavioral management treatment plans uniquely designed for each animal exhibiting atypical behaviors
• Staff training on how to interact with the animals in the least stressful way
• Positive reinforcement training (PRT) to facilitate an animal’s voluntary participation in husbandry, veterinary, and experimental procedures. PRT can drastically reduce animal stress by providing a positive interaction with human caregivers, and by giving the animal some level of control over the procedure.

The Animal Behavior and Welfare team is available to assist researchers whose animals are housed by DVR. Contact Dr. Robyn Engel (robyn.engel@nih.gov) with training requests or questions about DVR’s behavioral management program.