Version 1
: Received: 23 October 2017 / Approved: 24 October 2017 / Online: 24 October 2017 (03:29:02 CEST)
How to cite:
Kappel, S.; Hawkins, P.; Mendl, M.T. To Group or Not to Group? Good Practice for Housing Male Laboratory Mice. Preprints2017, 2017100150. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints201710.0150.v1
Kappel, S.; Hawkins, P.; Mendl, M.T. To Group or Not to Group? Good Practice for Housing Male Laboratory Mice. Preprints 2017, 2017100150. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints201710.0150.v1
Kappel, S.; Hawkins, P.; Mendl, M.T. To Group or Not to Group? Good Practice for Housing Male Laboratory Mice. Preprints2017, 2017100150. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints201710.0150.v1
APA Style
Kappel, S., Hawkins, P., & Mendl, M.T. (2017). To Group or Not to Group? Good Practice for Housing Male Laboratory Mice. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints201710.0150.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Kappel, S., Penny Hawkins and Michael T. Mendl. 2017 "To Group or Not to Group? Good Practice for Housing Male Laboratory Mice" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints201710.0150.v1
Abstract
It is widely recommended to group house male laboratory mice because they are ‘social animals’, but male mice do not naturally share territories and aggression can be a serious welfare problem. Even without aggression, not all animals within a group will be in a state of positive welfare. Rather, many male mice may be negatively affected by the stress of repeated social defeat and subordination, raising concerns about welfare and also research validity. However, individual housing may not be an appropriate solution, given the welfare implications associated with no social contact. An essential question is whether it is in the best welfare interests of male mice to be group- or singly-housed. This review explores the likely impacts, positive and negative, of both housing conditions, presents results of a survey of current practice and awareness of mouse behaviour, and includes recommendations for good practice and future research. We conclude that whether group- or single-housing is better (or less worse) in any situation is highly context-dependent according to several factors including strain, age, social position, life experiences, and housing and husbandry protocols. It is important to recognise this and evaluate what is preferable from animal welfare and ethical perspectives in each case.
Keywords
refinement; mouse welfare; mouse husbandry; mouse aggression; male mice; social organisation; group housing; single housing; animal husbandry; animal welfare; animal management
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Animal Science, Veterinary Science and Zoology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
