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. 
Graham, C., von Keyserlingk, M. A. G., Franks, B. 2018. Free-choice exploration increases affiliative behaviour in zebrafish. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 203, 103-110.

Cognitive stimulation has been shown to be rewarding and capable of eliciting positive emotions in several species. In contrast to the abundant learning and exploration opportunities available in nature, captive environments can be under-stimulating—with the...

Graham, C., von Keyserlingk, M. A. G., Franks, B. 2018. Zebrafish welfare: Natural history, social motivation and behaviour. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 200, 13-22.

Zebrafish are now one of the most used animal model species in scientific research worldwide. Our current knowledge of wild zebrafish is limited to an estimated range of their natural habitats and their tendencies to...

Campbell, D. L. M., Horton, B. J., Hinch, G. N. 2018. Using radio-frequency identification technology to measure synchronised ranging of free-range laying hens. Animals 8(11), 210.

Free-range laying hen systems provide individuals a choice between indoor and outdoor areas where range use may be socially influenced. This study used radio-frequency identification technology to track the ranging of individually-tagged hens housed in...

Ekesbo, I., Gunnarsson, S. 2018. Farm Animal Behaviour: Characteristics for Assessment and Welfare (2nd ed). CABI, Wallingford, UK.

Completely updated and revised, and with a new author team, this second edition of Farm Animal Behaviour continues to provide essential information on normal and stereotypic behaviors in a wide variety of farm animals to...

Burton, D., Burton, M. (Eds). 2017. Essential Fish Biology: Diversity, Structure and Function. Oxford University Press: Oxford, U.K., 448 pp.

This book summarizes the basic features of living fish. It is introduced by a chapter on the diversity of a group which has over 30,000 species, the largest within the vertebrates, describing the classification systems...

Rose, P. E., Nash, S. M., Riley, L. M. 2017. To pace or not to pace? A review of what abnormal repetitive behavior tells us about zoo animal management. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 20, 11-21.

Performance of abnormal repetitive behavior (ARB) is noted in many captive wild species. ARB can be categorized into 2 basic forms: those whose aim appears to be to compulsively reach an inappropriate goal and those...

Miller, L. J., Pisacane, C. B., Vicino, G. A. 2016. Relationship between behavioural diversity and faecal glucocorticoid metabolites: a case study with cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus). Animal Welfare 25(3), 325-329.

The ability to monitor the welfare of animal collections in zoological institutions is critical to the mission of these facilities. Historically, zoos have utilised negative indicators of welfare, such as stereotypic behaviour to examine and...

Winnicker, C., Gaskill, B., Garner, J. P. et al. 2016. A Guide to the Behavior & Enrichment of Laboratory Rodents. Charles River Laboratories.

Covering species-typical behavior as well as abnormal/malfunctional behavior and stereotypes observed in mice, rats, hamsters and gerbils, this is an excellent resource for those looking to implement or enhance an existing behavioral husbandry and enrichment...

Manuel, R., Gorissen, M., Stokkermans, M. et al. 2015. The effects of environmental enrichment and age-related differences on inhibitory avoidance in Zebrafish (Danio rerio). Zebrafish 12(2), 152-165.

The inhibitory avoidance paradigm allows the study of mechanisms underlying learning and memory formation in zebrafish (Danio rerio Hamilton). For zebrafish, the physiology and behavior associated with this paradigm are as yet poorly understood. We...

Brown, C. 2015. Fish intelligence, sentience and ethics. Animal Cognition 18(1), 1-17.

Fish are one of the most highly utilised vertebrate taxa by humans; they are harvested from wild stocks as part of global fishing industries, grown under intensive aquaculture conditions, are the most common pet and...

Bergman, T. J., Sheehan, M. J. 2013. Social knowledge and signal in primates. American Journal of Primatology 75(7), 683-694.

Primates are notable for having a rich and detailed understanding of their social environment and there has been great interest in the evolution and function of social knowledge in primates. Indeed, primates have been shown...

Rault, J.-L. 2012. Friends with benefits: Social support and its relevance for farm animal welfare. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 136(1), 1-14.

Despite growing interest in promoting positive welfare, rather than just alleviating poor welfare, potential measures of good welfare, and means to provide it, have remained elusive. In humans social support improves stress-coping abilities, health, and...

Williams-Fritze, M. J., Altieri, J. A., Clough, C. et al. 2010. Modification of a dog cage for use as an exercise unit for rabbits. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 703 (Abstract #P70).

The Guide for the Care and Use of Animals and the USDA Animal Welfare Regulations (AWR) outline minimum space requirements for laboratory animals, including rabbits. These documents encourage housing of animals in enclosures that allow...

Hawkins, P., Hubrecht, R., Buckwell, A. et al. 2008. Refining Rabbit Care: A Resource for Those Working With Rabbits in Research. UFAW/RSPCA: Southwater, UK, 27 pp.

The report sets out how to provide: optimal enclosure characteristicsand size; social housing; solid flooring and substrate; raised areas; refuges; gnawing objects and dietary enrichment; positive interaction with humans; toys and objects to manipulate; for...

Crast, J. 2007. Socially-mediated learning in groups of primates: models and methods. American Journal of Primatology 69(S1), 74. (30th Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists Scientific Program, Abstract #90)

An ethological understanding of a behavioral phenomenon incorporates four levels of explanation: development, mechanism, function, and evolution. The phenomenon of socially-mediated learning has garnered a great deal of attention from ethologists, prominently including primatologists. Gregarious...

Colson, S., Arnould, C., Michel, V. 2007. Motivation to dust-bathe of laying hens housed in cages and in aviaries. Animal 1(3), 433-437.

New housing systems for commercial egg production, furnished cages and non-cage systems, should improve the welfare of laying hens. In particular, thanks to the presence of a litter area, these new housing systems are thought...

Huntingford, F. A., Adams, C., Braithwaite, V. A. et al. 2006. Current issues in fish welfare. Journal of Fish Biology 68(2), 332-372.

In common with all vertebrates, fish respond to environmental challenges with a series of adaptive neuro‐endocrine adjustments that are collectively termed the stress response. These in turn induce reversible metabolic and behavioural changes that make...

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...