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. 
Overall, K. L., Dyer, D. 2005. Enrichment strategies for laboratory animals form the viewpoint of clinical veterinary behavioral medicine: Emphasis on cats and dogs. ILAR Journal 46(2), 202-216.

Understanding the range of behaviors, behavioral choices, and cognitive stimulation that cats and dogs exhibit under non-laboratory conditions can increase the ability of investigators to predict which enrichments are likely to be the most successful...

Hutchinson, E., Avery, A., Van de Woude, S. 2005. Environmental enrichment for laboratory rodents. ILAR Journal 46(2), 148-161.

In this article, laws and guidelines relating to rodent enrichment are reviewed, the natural behaviors of select rodent species are discussed, and an overview of widely used types of enrichment in laboratory rodent management is...

Bayne, K. 2005. Potential for unintended consequences of environmental enrihment for laboratory animals and research results. ILAR Journal 46(2), 129-139.

Many aspects of the research animal's housing environment are controlled for quality and/or standardization. Of recent interest is the potential for environmental enrichment to have unexpected consequences such as unintended harm to the animal, or...

Baumans, V. 2005. Environmental enrichment for laboratory rodents and rabbits: Requirements of rodents, rabbits, and research. ILAR Journal 46(2), 162-170.

Environmental conditions such as housing and husbandry have a major impact on the laboratory animal throughout its life and will thereby influence the outcome of animal experiments. However, housing systems for laboratory animals have often...

Key, D. 2004. Environmental enrichment options for laboratory rats and mice. Lab Animal 33(2), 39-44.

Environmental enrichment is the alteration of animals' microenvironment to provide them with the opportunity to perfrom species-specific behaviors that we perceive as positive, while reducing abnormal behaviors. [p. 39] Several interesting products are now available...

Applebee, K. A. 2002. Rodent environmental enrichment - animal welfare or human feel-good factor. Animal Technology and Welfare 1(2), 65-69.

This article discusses environmental enrichment for rodents, mainly mice and rats housed in conventional caging, in U.K. research facilities. Environmental enrichment should allow and encourage animals to perform normal behavioural patterns. Cage furniture cannot be...

Olsson, I. A. S., Dahlborn, K. 2002. Improving housing conditions for laboratory mice: A review of 'environmental enrichment'. Laboratory Animals 36, 243-270.

We have reviewed 40 studies carried out between 1987 and 2000, in which preferences as well as the effect of housing modifications have been studied. Mice will work for access to nesting material and make...

Fernández-Teruel, A., Giménez-Llort, L., Escorihuela, R. M. et al. 2002. Early-life handling stimulation and environmental enrichment: Are some of their effects mediated by similar neural mechanisms? Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior 73(1), 233-245.

Neonatal (early) handling (EH) and environmental enrichment (EE) of laboratory rodents have been the two most commonly used methods of providing supplementary environmental stimulation in order to study behavioral and neurobiological plasticity. A large body...

Pecenko, N. 1997. Visitors as an environmental enrichment. In: Proceedings on the International Conference on Environmental Enrichment. Holst, B. (ed), 325-33. Copenhagen Zoo, Frederiksberg, DK.

Because of the influence in behaviour, we can say that visitors are a kind of environmental enrichment. .... Sometimes visitors have a negative effect (increase of aggressive behaviour, begging for food) and in some cases...

Dahlborn, K., van Gils, B. A. A., van de Weerd, H. A. et al. 1996. Evaluation of long-term environmental enrichment in the mouse. Scandinavian Journal of Laboratory Animal Science 23(Supplement 1), 97-106. (Conference Paper)

It appears that mice who were enriched with both objects [nest box and plastic tube] and nesting material were more active, and spent less time on feeding and drinking, and they weight less compared to...

Van den Broek, F. A. R., Klompmaker, H., Bakkere, R. et al. 1995. Gerbils prefer partially darkened cages. Animal Welfare 4, 119-123.

Little is known about housing requirements of gerbils. ... The ten animals included in the [preference] test spent most of their time in the cages that were darkened by 50 and 75 per cent, thus...

Boyd, J. 1988. Mice. Humane Innovations and Alternatives in Animal Experimentation 2, 49-50.

Description of an ingenious, simple method to minimize odor, provide species-appropriate nesting opportunities and to facilitate cleaning.

Gutwein, B. M., Fishbein, W. 1980. Paradoxical sleep and memory (I): Selective alterations following enriched and impoverished environmental rearing. Brain Research Bulletin 5(1), 9-12.

Mice were reared in either enriched (EE), social control, (SE), or impoverished (IE) environments for 30 days. Environmental enrichment results in a significant and selective increase in paradoxical sleep (PS, or REM sleep) and also...

Feldhaus, R. A. 1980. A resting platform for dog pens. Laboratory Animal Science 30(4-1), 714-715.

After converting our dog holding facilities from commercial dog cages to pen type enclosures, it became apparent that suitable resting platforms were needed. Clear acrylic plastic was used to construct the resting platforms.