Abstract
The current European recommendations require that platforms in the cages of farm foxes should have solid sides. The present study aimed to clarify how such a obstructed view affects platform use in farmbred blue foxes (Alopex lagopus). Experimental groups with open (16 males, 14 females) and walled (16 males, 14 females) platforms were compared from weaning to pelting. Both platform types were 110 cm long x 30 cm wide. Walled platforms had 23 cm high walls at the ends and rear, but open ones were without walls. Data were collected by daytime scanning observations and 24-h video recordings. Results for both sexes were parallel, showing that foxes significantly (p
Highlights
The Standing Committee of the European Convention currently has legislated that the cage of each weaned fox shall be equipped with a suitable nestbox, a platform, or preferably both
The difference between studied platform groups increased with time, being highest in November for males
For females the difference was greatest in September
Summary
The Standing Committee of the European Convention currently has legislated that the cage of each weaned fox shall be equipped with a suitable nestbox, a platform, or preferably both. Non-preference for walls was further confirmed in another experiment in which half of a double cage was equipped with three nontransparent walls (Mononen et al 1995) Both blue and silver foxes almost exclusively favoured the cage half without walls. Earlier experiments have been carried out employing mainly small-sized platforms While it appears obvious, from the results of recent experiments (Korhonen and Niemelä 1993, 1995, Korhonen et al 1995), that platforms to be used in the future will have to be considerably larger, it would be important to clarify to what extent solid sides influence amount of use for larger platform constructions. The purpose of this study was to quantify how platform use by juvenile blue foxes is affected by large solid sided platforms, which prevent observation of the environment and neighbors from weaning to pelting
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