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. 

Ninety-nine of the biscuits were placed in a freely accessible dish attached to the mesh of the front of the cage. Thirty-three biscuits were offered in a food puzzle. Twenty-five percent (4/16) of the subjects...

A semi-natural habitat that was designed to house a group of squirrel monkeys is described. Animals maintained in this environment were healthy, and none of the animals exhibited locomotor stereotypies. This facility was easier and...

New techniques were developed to avoid the manual transfer - and the associated health hazard - of caged macaques during handling procedures.

Animals living in upper-row cages were more active and engaged in more close contact amicable behavior than animals living in lower-row cages. Those located in the half of the room nearer the window were more...

The environmental enrichment program of the Caribbean Primate Research Center is guided by an evolutionary and ecological perspective. The evolutionary perspective suggests that primates should be housed in enclosures that provide a social and physical...

Simple technical improvements of three common deficiencies of macaque cages are described: a) dark lower row cages, b) inaccessibility of vertical space, c) lack of privacy.

The sequence in which 14 laboratory rhesus macaques left their home enclosure during a routine catching procedure was recorded on 30 occasions during 6 weeks. The animals were trained to voluntarily exit one by one...

The area covered by the floor was 3 times larger than that covered by elevated structures; nonetheless the animals were located significantly more often (89.8% of 108 scan samples) on elevated structures than on the...

When forage materials [chicken scratch] are provided, bedding materials, such as straw or shredded newspaper, along with woodchips increase the amount of time the captive chimpanzee spends in search of forage materials. ... Whether this...

An inexpensive method for converting standard laboratory cages into colony units for housing small primate species is described. In addition to increasing the volume of space available to the animals, this system also provides a...

Modification of squeeze cages is described allowing the installation of a perch that does not interfere with the normal operation of the cage.

A large, three-part playground for captive chimpanzees was constructed and evaluated in terms of area use and behavior changes. Comparative behavioral samples were obtained on 38 subjects in the existing indoor-outdoor run and in the...

Wooden and plastic perches have been tested successfully by several hundred rhesus monkeys and 40 stump-tailed monkeys of both sexes and various ages over the last 3 years. Perches have proven an inexpensive, simple, yet...

Marmosets are among the easiest of primates to provide with environmental enrichment. Like other higher primates, they need companionship, adequate space with incorporated complexity, some unpredictability in the environment, ways in which they can manipulate...

This paper describes the introduction of a modified caging system and the benefits to both the animals and staff. The removal of metal grids at the bottom of the cage, and the introduction of direct...

General considerations for appropriate cage space arrangement for small monkeys.

Food sharing has been proposed as the propeller of hominid evolution, particularly of the development of systems of mutual social obligation. Yet, food sharing in our closest relative has never been subjected to a rigorous...

Dogs in the single cage size spent slightly less time moving, but they moved at a greater speed than when housed in double sized cages [probably because of the extreme confinement condition leading to frustration...

Against most expectations, after 11 years, the Seattle gorilla exhibit is still lushly landscaped. The animals climb trees to favorite perches to get a better view and browse among certain favourite plants. All of these...

In most laboratory situations, rabbits are kept isolated in cages. ... We have attempted to correct this deficiency by keeping rabbits in either large tubs which can accommodate six or more animals or in indoor/outdoor...

Autoaggression and stereotypies in individually housed cynomolgus monkeys were compared in a standard primate cage and an enriched playpen environment. Stereotypy and autoaggression were markedly reduced in the playpen, but reappeared on return to the...

A woodchip litter substrate reduces abnormal behaviours, primarily self-aggression, and encourages foraging, even in the absence of grain. Comparison between the bare floor and litter with grain showed that in the latter monkeys foraged more...

Sixty-seven animals from eight primate species were used to assess improved husbandry techniques. The presence of woodchips as a direct-contact litter decreased inactivity and fighting, and increased time spent on the ground. Placing food in...

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.