Methods to evaluate the wellbeing of laboratory primates: comparisons of macaques and tamarins.
Three objective behavioral tests are described for the assessment of wellbeing and possible enrichment of laboratory primates. One test, foraging for food in a pickup tray, proved practical for both macaques and tamarins. It provides positive human interaction as well as standardized evaluation of appetite for food and sensory-motor coordination. A puzzle feeder provided more complex foraging which could be performed by macaques, but not by tamarins. A third noninvasive test, used only with macaques, measured daily energy expenditure and sleep-wakefulness cycles as expressed in the diurnal rhythm of homecage activity. Normative data indicate the usefulness of each. Further refinement and validation of new tests and enrichment strategies requires a major research effort. Definitive measures such as those described here, coupled with data on long-term health outcomes, are essential before regulations for primate care can be revised with confidence.
Evans
H L
HL
Institute of Environmental Medicine, New York University Medical Center, NY 10016.
Taylor
J D
JD
Ernst
J
J
Graefe
J F
JF
D000827:Animal Welfare; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D002143:Callitrichinae / Q000502:physiology*; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences; D008251:Macaca / Q000502:physiology*; D008252:Macaca fascicularis / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors