Winnicker, C., Gaskill, B. 2012. Using enrichment to improve welfare and reduce suffering. Enrichment Record 12, 16-19.

European Directive 2010/63/EU requires that accommodation and care are refined so as to minimize suffering, and that the lifetime experience of the animal is taken into account when assessing the actual severity of procedures. So, with respect to these requirements, how does one go about assessing ‘lifetime suffering’ and can we use enrichment to reduce it? First, let’s consider suffering. Suffering has been defined as ‘a negative emotional state derived from adverse physical, physiological and psychological circumstances’ (Morton & Hau 2002). The term ‘suffering’ is typically associated with pain, and implies a longer lived, chronic, or relentless suppression of physiologic or behavioral stability or fulfillment. Procedures which induce pain, such as surgery, are addressed with medications: anesthesia and analgesia. Depending on the procedure performed, this pain may be short lived, but it is doubtful that anyone would argue that these acute negative experiences are less important to alleviate than chronic ones. It is perhaps best to assume that any negative alteration in animal welfare may constitute some degree of suffering. Therefore, we plan to address any negative alteration in animal welfare in this article. Alterations in animal welfare are generally assessed based on three concepts: biological functioning or physiological alterations; natural living or allowing animals to perform natural behaviors; and subjective experiences or positive or negative affective states (Fraser et al 1997, 2000). We’re past the point where it’s just an assumption that an enriched environment is better than an unenriched one, and we doubt that anyone would argue that enrichment, when ethologically sound, is anything but good for an animal’s welfare. Irrespective of where we draw the line between frustration and suffering, improving biological function, alleviating behavioral frustration, and an improved affective state are all desirable goals.