Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Single housing of animals, or social isolation, is a known stressor for many species. Generally, laboratory animals are housed in social groups as a default to support their behavioral welfare. In some research protocols, investigators may request exemptions from social housing policies after surgical procedures due to concerns that cohoused animals may damage implanted devices, remove each other's wound closures, or cause other stress or injury that may interfere with the study. However, the practice of singly housing postoperative animals may result in greater stress for animals and unintended consequences for research being conducted. Therefore, the IACUC or relevant ethical body should judiciously consider any request for single housing and require adequate justification for making this exception. This review discusses the social nature of some common research animals, the research effects of single housing, the regulatory requirements for social housing, and successful cases of socially housing postoperative and/or instrumented animals in the research setting with the goal of promoting social housing of postoperative animals.
Institutions: Purdue University West Lafayette, University of Rhode Island, University of Michigan, Emory University, Charles River Laboratories (United States), Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, National Institutes of Health, Texas A&M University System, Texas A&M University, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Harvard University, University of Washington
Language: English
Subfield: Small Animals
Field: Veterinary
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7119481529
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