Refinement Database

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

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

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, Setting, 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, and only publications dated 2020 or later (with some exceptions) can be filtered by Setting. Most publications older than 2010 can only be searched by keyword. 
Golledge, H., Richardson, C. (Eds.) 2024. The UFAW Handbook on the Care and Management of Laboratory and Other Research Animals (9th ed.). Wiley-Blackwell. 1040 p.

The latest edition of the seminal reference on the care and management of laboratory and research animals. The newly revised ninth edition of The UFAW Handbook on the Care and Management of Laboratory and Other...

Kitchenham, L., MacLellan, A., Paletta, P. et al. 2024. Do housing-induced changes in brain activity cause stereotypic behaviours in laboratory mice? Behavioural Brain Research 462, 114862.

Abnormal repetitive stereotypic behaviours (SBs) (e.g. pacing, body-rocking) are common in animals with poor welfare (e.g. socially isolated/in barren housing). But how (or even whether) poor housing alters animals’ brains to induce SBs remains uncertain...

Ausderau, K. K., Colman, R. J., Kabakov, S. et al. 2023. Evaluating depression- and anxiety-like behaviors in non-human primates. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 16, 1006065.

Depression and anxiety are some of the most prevalent and debilitating mental health conditions in humans. They can present on their own or as co-morbidities with other disorders. Like humans, non-human primates (NHPs) can develop...

Marks, C. A., Allen, L., Lindeberg, H. 2023. Non-lethal dose-response models replace lethal bioassays for predicting the hazard of para-animopropiophenone to Australian wildlife. Animals 13(3), 472.

Para-aminopropiophenone (PAPP) is a potent methaemoglobin (MetHb) forming agent used for the lethal control of exotic carnivores and mustelids. To assess the sensitivity of Australian wildlife to PAPP we developed an in vivo assay that...

Domínguez-Oliva, A., Hernández-Ávalos, I., Olmos-Hernández, A. et al. 2023. Thermal response of laboratory rats (Rattus norvegicus) during the application of six methods of euthanasia assessed by infrared thermography. Animals 13(18), 2820.

Refinement is one of the principles aiming to promote welfare in research animals. The techniques used during an experimental protocol, including euthanasia selection, must prevent and minimize suffering. Although the current euthanasia methods applied to...

Domínguez-Oliva, A., Olmos-Hernández, A., Hernández-Ávalos, I. et al. 2023. Rat grimace scale as a method to evaluate animal welfare, nociception, and quality of the euthanasia method of wistar rats. Animals 13(20), 3161.

Refinement of experimental procedures in animal research has the objective of preventing and minimizing pain/distress in animals, including the euthanasia period. This study aimed to evaluate pain associated with six methods of euthanasia in Wistar...

Heniff, A. C., Gorges, M. A., Lewbart, G. A. et al. 2023. Evaluation of targeted injections of ivermectin or potassium chloride for euthanasia of anesthetized thorny devil stick insects (Eurycantha calcarata). Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens 4(1), 231–239.

Insects are commonly utilized in biomedical research and have become increasingly popular in museum collections and as pets. Despite this, objective evaluation of insect euthanasia is scarce. This study investigated the effectiveness of targeted injections...

Riemer, S. 2023. Therapy and prevention of noise fears in dogs—A review of the current evidence for practitioners. Animals 13(23), 3664.

Noise fears represent the most common behavioural problem in dogs. This manuscript provides an overview of diverse approaches for alleviating fear of noises in dogs and the supporting evidence. In the treatment of noise fears...

Shanazz, K., Nalloor, R., Vazdarjanova, A. 2023. A mild stressor induces short-term anxiety and long-term phenotypic changes in trauma-related behavior in female rats. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 17.

IntroductionAnxiety and anxiety-influenced disorders are sexually dimorphic with women being disproportionately affected compared to men. Given the increased prevalence in women and the documented differences in anxiety and trauma behavior between male and female rats...

Stevens, C., Hammonds, T., Hinchcliffe, J. et al. 2023. Report of the 2022 RSPCA/UFAW Rodent Welfare Group Meeting. Animal Technology and Welfare 22(2), 91–100.

The RSPCA/UFAW Rodent Welfare Group has held a one-day meeting every autumn for the last 29 years, so that its members can discuss current welfare research, exchange views on welfare issues and share experiences of...

Gardhouse, S., Beaufrere, H., Hawkins, M. G. et al. 2023. Evaluation of oral transmucosal administration of pentobarbital for euthanasia of conscious wild birds. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 26(1), 4–14.

This prospective study evaluated oral transmucosal pentobarbital sodium at three doses in 110 wild-caught wild birds requiring euthanasia. Birds received transmucosal pentobarbital at five (430 mg/kg), six (516 mg/kg), and seven times (602 mg/kg) the...

Munro, B. A., Merenick, D. R., Gee, J. M. et al. 2023. Use of loss of righting reflex to assess susceptibility to carbon dioxide gas in three mouse strains. JAALAS 62(6), 553–558.

Exposure to CO2 gas is a common rodent euthanasia method. CO2 activates nociceptors in rats and is painful to humans at concentrations equal to or greater than 32.5% The concentration of CO2 at which rodents...

Hickman, D. L. 2023. Euthanasia of neonatal rats and mice using carbon monoxide. JAALAS 62(3), 274–278.

Minimization of potential pain and distress of rodents undergoing euthanasia is a touchstone of veterinary clinical medicine. Evaluation of this issue in postweanling rodents has supported revisions to the AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association) Guidelines...

McNamara, A., Ballantine, A. R., Deuchande, R. et al. 2023. Comparison of fixed and rising displacement rates of CO2 for euthanasia of aged rats. JAALAS 62(5), 453–463.

This study compared euthanasia induced by rising concentrations of CO2 in aged rats (n = 59) using different gas displacement rates. Rats were preimplanted with cardiovascular telemetry devices and had been previously used for short...

Stuckey, J. E., Makhija, S. D., Reimer, D. C. et al. 2023. Effects of different grades of carbon dioxide on euthanasia of mice (Mus musculus). JAALAS 62(5), 430–437.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a conditionally acceptable method for mouse euthanasia, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals. In a 2012 Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) webinar, representatives...

Hickman, D. L. 2022. Evaluation of carbon dioxide euthanasia of female Sprague Dawley rats alone or with unfamiliar conspecifics. JAALAS 61(2), 195-200.

Most studies evaluating methods of euthanasia to date have focused on the euthanasia of individual animals. However, larger chambers are commonly used to euthanize multiple cages of animals at once. This study evaluated the use...

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...

Lutz, C. K., Coleman, K., Hopper, L.M. et al. 2022. Nonhuman primate abnormal behavior: Etiology, assessment, and treatment. American Journal of Primatology 84(6), e23380.

Across captive settings, nonhuman primates may develop an array of abnormal behaviors including stereotypic and self-injurious behavior. Abnormal behavior can indicate a state of poor welfare, since it is often associated with a suboptimal environment...

Hickman, D. L. 2022. Minimal exposure times for irreversible euthanasia with carbon dioxide in mice and rats. JAALAS 61(3), 283-286.

When using an anesthetic overdose to euthanize laboratory rodents, a secondary method of euthanasia is recommended to ensure that the apparent death is irreversible. This secondary method usually is accomplished through the collection of tissues...

McKinney, M. M., Dupont, W. D., Corson, K. J. et al. 2022. Physiologic and behavioral effects in mice anesthetized with isoflurane in a red-tinted or a traditional translucent chamber. JAALAS 61(4), 322-332.

Isoflurane has been characterized as a distressing agent for rodents, causing both physiologic and behavioral effects. Using a "darkened home cage" has been recommended during CO2 administration for rodent euthanasia; this is arguably a similar...

Clarkson, J. M., Martin, J. E., McKeegan, D. E. F. 2022. A review of methods used to kill laboratory rodents: Issues and opportunities. Laboratory Animals 56(5), 419-436.

Rodents are the most widely used species for scientific purposes. A critical pre-requisite of their use, based on utilitarian ethical reasoning, is the provision of a humane death when necessary for scientific or welfare grounds...

Neil, D. M., Albalat, A., Thompson, J. 2022. The effects of electrical stunning on the nervous activity and physiological stress response of a commercially important decapod crustacean, the brown crab Cancer pagurus L. PLOS ONE 17(7), e0270960.

Increasing attention is being paid to the welfare of decapod crustaceans. Legislation exists for their humane slaughter in several countries and this is being debated in others. Electrical stunning may have potential for humane slaughter...

Müller, K., Lengheimer, T., Kral-Pointner, J. B. et al. 2022. Exposure to soiled bedding reduces abnormal repetitive behaviors in mice. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 16, 1062864.

Hygiene management protocols in laboratory mouse husbandries worldwide most commonly employ soiled bedding-exposed sentinel mice to monitor the occurrence of infections in mouse colonies. Using this approach, sentinel mice repeatedly receive a mixture of used...

Wahltinez, S. J., Stacy, N. I., Hadfield, C. A. et al. 2022. Perspective: Opportunities for advancing aquatic invertebrate welfare. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 9, 973376.

Welfare considerations and regulations for invertebrates have lagged behind those for vertebrates, despite invertebrates comprising more than 95% of earth’s species. Humans interact with and use aquatic invertebrates for exhibition in zoos and aquaria, as...

Hatcher, N. 2022. The effects of enrichment on an abnormal behaviour in naked mole rats (Heterocephalus glaber) at Tilgate Nature Centre. RATEL (Journal of the Association of British and Irish Wild Animal Keepers) 49(4), 15-18.

The naked mole rat (Heterocephalus glaber) is a relatively rare mammal in zoological collections with only nine zoos in the United Kingdom holding colonies of varying sizes at the time of study. This study aims...