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. 
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...

National Research Council. 2003. Guidelines for the Care and Use of Mammals in Neuroscience and Behavioral Research. National Academic Press: Washington, DC, 223 pp.

Expanding on the National Research Council’s Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, this book deals specifically with mammals in neuroscience and behavioral research laboratories. It offers flexible guidelines for the care of...

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...

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.