Understanding and assessing boredom in farm animals

Captive animals, including the billions kept on farms worldwide, are often housed in conditions humans might consider ‘boring'. Boredom is experienced as unpleasant and can have negative physical and mental health consequences in humans. However, we know very little about whether animals experience this, or how to alleviate it when they do. I previously found, using a scientific measure of boredom I developed, that mink in standard farm cages showed signs of boredom-like states compared to those in "enriched" cages with more and more variable resources. Specifically, standard-housed mink displayed elevated interest in stimuli, even ones that would typically be unpleasant or frightening. This research will build on that in three ways. First, it will determine whether animals experience the full range of boredom symptoms by testing whether this measure corresponds with other signs, including changes in physiological arousal and cognitive changes seen in human boredom. One such cognitive change is the perception that time is ‘dragging', to be tested by asking animals to perform a response after a set time period and seeing if they overestimate the time passing when bored. Second, for the first time, I will test for the core symptom of boredom, increased motivation for stimuli, in dairy cattle. This will be done by comparing calves with and without enrichment, and cattle while at pasture versus when they are confined indoors in a less stimulating environment. In both species, other behavioural differences will be assessed to look for indicators of boredom that would be more practical for use in on-farm welfare assessment. Finally, I will test hypotheses from human psychology about possible causes of boredom: lack of activities perceived as meaningful (working towards valued goals), lack of control over their own lives, and general lack of stimulation or attentional demands. These variables can be experimentally controlled and distinguished from one another in animals more easily than in humans. If all are true, simply adding any toys will not prevent boredom. This research programme will thus increase our fundamental understanding of boredom across species and the range of methods for assessing it, which is severely lacking compared to other negative states such as fear and pain. This will provide a basis for future research to determine which species and individuals are likely to suffer from boredom and when, and to continue testing the effectiveness of ways of reducing boredom such as the enrichments and management changes proposed here for mink and cattle. This contributes to my long-term vision of identifying forms of stimulation that animals need to have good lives. Such research can inform Canadian policy for management of farm animals, with possible applications to laboratory animals as well. It will also provide validated measures of boredom to use in on-farm welfare assessments, which are increasingly important to consumers.