Health and behaviour of captive animals in relation to feeding management, with an emphasis on foraging enrichment and behaviour

Abstract

The performance of feeding and foraging behaviour is innate to animals, and captive environments impose serious confinements on this behaviour. Captive animals are at risk to develop various health issues and behavioural disorders due to suboptimal feeding management, i.e. food quality, food quantity and method of food provision. Dietary restriction is needed to reduce the risk of morbid obesity, but this could lead to aggression and abnormal behaviour. Improved food quality has been found to be beneficial for oral and gastro-intestinal health, promoted satiety and subsequently reduced abnormal behaviour. Foraging enrichment is often applied to stimulate species-specific foraging behaviour and to reduce abnormal behaviour. This review aimed to evaluate different strategies on natural foraging behaviour and abnormal behaviour. Five strategies were distinguished: 1) natural and semi-natural foods and forages (i.e. food quality), 2) food-related manipulanda, 3) non-food related manipulanda, 4) olfactory enrichment and 5) feeding routines. (Semi-)Natural foodstuffs were considered to be the most efficient in stimulating species-specific foraging behaviour and reducing abnormal behaviour; it was directly related to natural behaviour. The other strategies were also efficient in stimulating different aspects of foraging behaviour, but had variable effects on abnormal behaviour. Various factors could have contributed to that, such as complexity (frustration), resource competition and less controllability over when to feed. Most strategies were, however, limited tested and with small sample sizes. More fundamental knowledge into speciesspecific feeding and foraging behaviour and better defined ethograms (included stereotypies) are needed to evaluate which strategies are efficient for specific animal species.