Zookeepers will often create enrichment devices in order to provide animals with diverse stimuli and challenges, this offers both mental and physical stimulation, but suitable enrichment can be difficult to create and in some occasions not always effective at improving animal welfare.

A basic and general rule of thumb is that when you are creating animal enrichment is that imagine that you are creating a device for a human baby, aged 2-4 years old to play with. Young children generally explore the world by sticking items in their mouth. If your device is suitable to be given to a young child and they would not hurt or injure themselves then it should be given to the animal. Is the structure suitable will it collapse and hurt the child / animal.

Click on this link to see a short film when the enrichment did not go according to plan!

Safety first!

·         Can the animals get caught in it or become trapped by it? 

·         Can it be used as a weapon? 

·         Can an animal be cut or otherwise injured by it?

·         Can it fall on an animal? 

·         Can the animal choke on or ingest any piece of the object? Is any part of it toxic, including paint or epoxy?

·         Can it destroy an exhibit/electric fence? 

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