关键词: 实验动物, 动物福利, 环境丰容

Abstract: Environmental enrichment is a core measure for improving the welfare of laboratory animals and ensuring the quality of scientific data. Its development stems from the negative impacts of monotonous cage environments on animal health and research outcomes. This paper systematically elaborates on the theoretical and practical framework of environmental enrichment for laboratory animals. First, it clarifies the core definition of enrichment as the process or measure of providing appropriate environmental stimuli to promote natural behaviors and reduce abnormal behaviors in animals. It emphasizes the need to tailor enrichment programs based on species-specific characteristics and age, with safety as the primary prerequisite. Second, environmental enrichment is categorized into four types: social environment, housing environment, animal activity, and cage space. The implementation key points and core objective of each type are detailed, highlighting that enrichment should be integrated into behavioral management plans and be consistent with the 3R principles. Furthermore, the relationship between enrichment and experimental variability is explored. Appropriate enrichment neither systematically alters within experiment variation nor compromise the reproducibility of experimental result ; only improper enrichment may increase outcome variability. Finally, the assessment is conducted from two aspects: potential risks and value balance. It is proposed that the validity of enrichment should be evaluated based on factors such as animal usage conditions,methods of use, and impacts on research. Studies indicate that scientific environmental enrichment is not only an ethical requirement for ensuring laboratory animal welfare, but also an important means to improve the reliability and promotion value of scientific research data, which ultimately helps to promote the development of high-quality scientific research.

Key words: laboratory animals, animal welfare, environmental enrichment