Refinement Database

Database on Refinement of Housing, Husbandry, Care, and Use of Animals in Research

This database, created in 2000, is updated every three months with newly published scientific articles, books, and other publications related to improving or safeguarding the welfare of animals used in research.

Links to the full text for publications that appear in open access journals or are published on the AWI website are provided under the abstract.

Tips for using the database:

  • This landing page displays all of the publications in the database.
  • Use the drop-down menus to filter these publications by Animal Type and/or Topic.
  • Clicking on a parent category (e.g., Rodent) will include publications relating to all the items in that category (e.g., Chinchilla, Gerbil, Guinea pig, etc.).
  • You may also add a keyword to further narrow your search.
  • Please note that at this time, only publications dated 2010 or later (with some exceptions) can be filtered by Animal Type and Topic. Most publications older than 2010 can only be searched by keyword. 
Hunt, R. L., Whiteside, H., Prankel, S. 2022. Effects of environmental enrichment on dog behaviour: Pilot study. Animals 12(2), 141.
Environmental enrichment (EE) can be used to enhance the environment of various animals. The aim of this pilot study was to determine the effects of seven EE activities (Bonding, Bubble machine, Conspecific play, Interactive toy...
King, T., Flint, H. E., Hunt, A. B. G. et al. 2022. Effect of music on stress parameters in dogs during a mock veterinary visit. Animals 12(2), 187.
Veterinary visits can be stressful for dogs, but how their wellbeing changes during a visit is not well understood. Music therapy has been successfully used in clinical practice to alleviate stress and anxiety in people...
Ratuski, A. S., Weary, D. M. 2022. Environmental enrichment for rats and mice housed in laboratories: A metareview. Animals 12(4), 414.
Environmental enrichment has been widely studied in rodents, but there is no consensus on what enrichment should look like or what it should achieve. Inconsistent use of the term “enrichment” creates challenges in drawing conclusions...
Vonk, J., Truax, J., McGuire, M. C. 2022. A food for all seasons: Stability of food preferences in gorillas across testing methods and seasons. Animals 12(6), 685.
Decisions about which foods to use during training and enrichment for captive animals may be based on invalid assumptions about individuals’ preferences. It is important to assess the stability of food preferences given that one-time...
Kapusta, J., Kruczek, M., Pochroń, E. et al. 2022. Welfare of encaged rodents: Species specific behavioral reaction of voles to new enrichment items. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 246, 105522.
The enrichment of the environment of captive animals is one of the methods applied to reduce stress of the animals and to assure their proper welfare. However, placing objects in a limited space of a...
Shaw, N., Wemelsfelder, F., Riley, L. M. 2022. Bark to the future: The welfare of domestic dogs during interaction with a positively reinforcing artificial agent. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 249, 105595.
Domestic pet dogs typically spend a large amount of time inside the home environment, including hours alone. An audio/food dispensing automated device (an artificial agent, hereafter agent) was evaluated for enrichment potential. The agent issued...
Gilberto, D., Michener, M., Smith, B. et al. 2022. Chronic collection of cerebrospinal fluid from rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) with cisterna magna ports: Update on refinements. Comparative Medicine 72(1), 45-49.
More than 20 y ago, we developed an animal model for chronic and continuous collection of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from conscious rhesus macaques. Since our previous publication in 2003, we have successfully implanted 168 rhesus...
Martins, T., Matos, A. F., Soares, J. et al. 2022. Comparison of gelatin flavors for oral dosing of C57BL/6J and FVB/N mice. JAALAS 61(1), 89-95.
Precise oral dosing in rodents is usually achieved by intragastric gavage. If performed incorrectly due to technical difficulties, inexperience, or animal resistance, oral gavage may have animal welfare implications such as esophageal and gastric rupture...
Habenicht, L. M., Staley, A. W., Clancy, B. M. et al. 2022. Characterization of a jumping stereotypy in gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) and assessment of opaque tubing enrichment on stereotypies and breeding. JAALAS 61(2), 149-158.
Mongolian gerbils can develop stereotypic behaviors, including corner digging. At our institution, gerbils also engage in repetitive corner jumping, which we sought to characterize as a potentially novel stereotypy in gerbils. We then attempted to...
Janavaris, M., Bader, L., Hansen, J. J. et al. 2022. Bedding as an enrichment strategy in group-housed Mauritian cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis). JAALAS 61(2), 159-164.
The research community is committed to improving the well-being of nonhuman primates by providing opportunities to express species-specific behaviors such as foraging. In the wild, macaques spend a large part of their day foraging; this...
Gregoire, A. 2022. Considering sustenance preference to motivate and enhance NHP learning and performance. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 10(1) (January/February), 12-14.
Finding and utilizing the specific taste preferences of the rhesus macaque in the laboratory setting can be a valuable step towards promoting cooperative, positively reinforced training. It can also be a wonderful tool for enrichment...
Stammen, R. L., Cohen, J. K., Connor-Stroud, F. R. et al. 2022. Enhancing animal welfare by providing custom caging space for nonhuman primates. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 10(1) (January/February), 20-23.
The YNPRC recently renovated two NHP housing areas with a novel facility design and equipped with a customized caging system that offers additional outdoor access, socialization, and enrichment opportunities for NHPs assigned to infectious disease...
Medina, A. 2022. Creative enrichment for nonhuman primates. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 10(1) (January/February), 42-43.
Providing novel and creative enrichments for nonhuman primates improves their mental wellbeing and is thus an important aspect of all husbandry programs. These enrichments are often presented through variations in diet, toys, and environmental features...
Buchanan, K. 2022. DIY: Ants on a log. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 10(1) (January/February), 44.
This traditional snack has a variety of options for NHP enrichment. From fruit to cereals, get creative with the “ants” and remember to consider different fillings for the celery log.
Buchanan, K. 2022. Chicken gummy dog treats. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 10(3) (May/June), 42.
Here is a simple, fast, and easy recipe for making homemade dog gummies only using 2 ingredients. The main ingredient in gelatin is collagen, a protein found in animal tissues, ligaments, tendons, bones, and skin...
Hobbiesiefken, U., Mieske, P., Lewejohann, L. et al. 2021. Evaluation of different types of enrichment - their usage and effect on home cage behavior in female mice. PLoS ONE 16(12), e0261876.
Numerous studies ascertained positive effects of enriched environments on the well-being of laboratory animals including behavioral, physiological and neurochemical parameters. Conversely, such conclusions imply impaired animal welfare and health in barren husbandry conditions. Moreover, inappropriate...
Alejandro, J., Huffman, M. A., Bercovitch, F. B. 2022. Costs and benefits of living in a vegetated, compared with non‐vegetated, enclosure in male Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata). Zoo Biology 41(2), 97-107.
Improving captive environments for primates has been an important tool to enhance animal welfare. One method has been to provide primates with naturalistic vegetated enclosures to promote species-specific behaviors, enhancing interactions with their social and...
Stevens, C., Dobbinson, K., Brook, E. et al. 2022. Report of the 2021 RSPCA/UFAW Rodent Welfare Group meeting. Animal Technology and Welfare 21(2), 83-91.
The RSPCA/UFAW Rodent Welfare Group has held a one-day meeting every autumn for the last 28 years, so that its members can discuss current welfare research, exchange views on welfare issues and share experiences of...
Bartlett, J., Davies, J., Purawijaya, D. et al. 2022. Refinement of handling and dosing methods for rats and mice. Animal Technology and Welfare 21(2), 120-124.
Modified Handling for Mice: Handling mice by gripping the base of the tail has been shown to negatively impact animal welfare by increasing anxiety and aversion to handling. We aimed to refi ne the dosing...
Donaldson-Wing, M. 2022. Medicated jelly as a replacement for injectables and the use of Maropitant to manage itchy skin in mice. Animal Technology and Welfare 21(2), 134-136.
It is desirable to administer drugs by the least invasive route to (1) optimise welfare, (2) reduce the risk of injury to animal handlers and (3) minimise the impact of restraint and transient pain on...
To improve animal welfare in collective park housing systems, this study assessed the effects of the provision of gnawing hay blocks and the group composition (F: females, M: males, FM: mixed sex) on performance, behavior...
Martin, C. F., Muramatsu, A., Matsuzawa, T. 2022. Apex and ApeTouch: Development of a portable touchscreen system and software for primates at zoos. Animals 12(13), 1660.
We report on the development and testing of a portable touchscreen apparatus and accompanying software program for primate enrichment, cognitive research, and husbandry applications. For zoos considering using technology to bolster scientific efforts or enhance...
Maaskant, A., Janssen, I., Wouters, I. M. et al. 2022. Assessment of indoor air quality for group-housed macaques (Macaca spp.). Animals 12(14), 1750.
Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is strongly associated with animal health and wellbeing. To identify possible problems of the indoor environment of macaques (Macaca spp.), we assessed the IAQ. The temperature (°C), relative humidity (%) and...
Aldhshan, M. S., Mizuno, T. M. 2022. Effect of environmental enrichment on aggression and the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor transcript variants in group-housed male mice. Behavioural Brain Research 433, 113986.
Social and environmental factors influence behavior via modulation of brain physiological functions. Environmental enrichment (EE) is an animal housing technique that provides complex sensory, motor, and social stimulation, leading to modifications in the innate aggressiveness...
Mieske, P., Hobbiesiefken, U., Fischer-Tenhagen, C. et al. 2022. Bored at home?—A systematic review on the effect of environmental enrichment on the welfare of laboratory rats and mice. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 9, 899219.
Boredom is an emotional state that occurs when an individual has nothing to do, is not interested in the surrounding, and feels dreary and in a monotony. While this condition is usually defined for humans...

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