Transportation of rats affects behaviour of non-transported rats in the absence of physical contact (preliminary communication).

We have studied the effect of transportation stress in one rat on the behaviour of another, non-transported rat in the absence of physical contact. For this purpose an open box consisting of two adjacent small fields was used. Rats were placed in these fields and their behaviour was assessed. The control measurement involved pairs of non-transported rats and the experimental pairs consisted of a transported and a non-transported rat. The non-transported rats of the experimental pairs displayed significantly increased activities of sniffing when compared with the non-transported rats of the control pairs. It is suggested that stressed animals can influence the behaviour of nearby animals.