Safety                 

 

It is possible for enrichment strategies to pose dangerous, even fatal, hazards to animals. Information about incidents that have occurred can be invaluable for preventing similar injuries in other institutions. The Shape of Enrichment offers the following information to raise awareness of safety issues concerning enrichment.

 

 

Safety Database

 

Many animal care professionals are reluctant to publish this vital information, due to concerns that it may reflect badly on their institution. The Safety Database provides this vital information in an anonymous forum and can be searched by any (or all) of three criteria: taxonomic group, enrichment material, and/or safety hazard.

 

If you have information concerning a safety incident involving enrichment, please submit this, via e-mail, to our Safety Editor. Once received, we will remove all identifying factors such as name, e-mail, institution, etc. before posting.

 

Safety Database

Contact the Safety Editor

 

 

Downloadable Publications

 

The following articles may have safety information you find helpful. Our thanks go out to the authors for giving permission to offer these publications. These are pdf files. If you do not have Acrobat Reader, you can download a free version from Adobe.

 

Enrichment Gone Wrong! by Valerie Hare, Beth Rich, and Karen Worley (2008)

A Veterinary Assessment of the Risks and Benefits of Environmental Enrichment by Ann Duncan (1997)

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