No effect of variation in handling on behaviour in a porcine elevated plus-maze - a brief report

The elevated plus-maze is a widely used model of anxiety in rodents and has recently been suggested as a putative model of anxiety or fear in swine. T he aim of the present experiment was to examine the effects of a pretest bl ood sampling procedure on the behaviour of weaned pigs in an elevated plus- maze. Animals in the control group were lifted one-by-one into a transport trolley and moved to the test apparatus, where they were observed for a 5-m in period. The treatment group differed from the control group in that thes e animals were immobilized with a nose snare and a blood sample was extract ed from the jugular vein prior to transport to the test room. Behaviour in the porcine elevated plus-maze did not differ significantly between the two handling procedures. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All right s reserved.