Effect of Inside-cage and Outside-cage Environment on Behaviour Test Performance of Blue Foxes (Alopex lagopus)

Abstract

Abstract In-cage reaction tests, the open field test and daily activity in the home cage were used to assess the effect of the internal design and location of cages on the behaviour of juvenile blue foxes (Alopex lagopus) during the growing season. The inclusion of nest boxes or resting platforms affected the behaviour of farmed blue foxes, but to a lesser extent than did the location of the animal in the cage row, i.e. the environment outside the cage itself. This study demonstrated that the actual environment in which the farm foxes live may be far larger than the cage interior itself, and that attempts to improve housing design should take into consideration the environment outside the cage to a greater extent than has heretofore been the case.