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...

Warner-Hough, M. 2024. Enriching the lives of zebra finches. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 12(1) (January/February), 28-30.

Zebra finches are an uncommon animal model in the biomedical industry but are widely used in language development, memory, and learning studies. Native to Australia, they are desert birds that like warm days and 40%+...

Mantz, M., Pugerud, A. 2024. Overcoming the hurdles of lab animal enrichment: Natural behaviors vs. scientific need. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 12(1) (January/February), 32-34.

The Animal Resources Core (ARC) at the Abigail Wexner Research Institute (AWRI) at Nationwide Children’s Hospital (NCH) faces many of the same challenges other institutions manage in terms of enrichment for laboratory animals. A Behavior...

Boonhoh, W., Saramolee, P., Sriphavatsarakom, P. et al. 2024. Preference of dogs towards feeding toys made of natural rubber, and their potential to improve canine behaviour: A study based on owners’ observations. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 270, 106142.

Improper feeding methods can be linked to canine behaviour problems, as the conventional bowl-feeding approach fail to mimic natural behaviour and is associated with obesity. Feeding toys can potentially contribute to the enhancement of dog...

Cohen, S., Ho, C. 2023. Review of rat (Rattus norvegicus), Mouse (mus musculus), Guinea pig (Cavia procellus), and rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) indicators for welfare assessment. Animals 13(13), 2167.

The monitoring and assessment of animals is important for their health and welfare. The appropriate selection of multiple, validated, and feasible welfare assessment indicators is required to effectively identify compromises or improvements to animal welfare...

Corsetti, S., Natoli, E., Palme, R. et al. 2023. Instraspecific interactions decrease stress affecting welfare in shelter dogs: A comparison of four different housing conditions. Animals 13(11), 1828.

Shelters are stressful environments for domestic dogs (Canis familiaris). Evaluating dogs’ welfare is crucial to improve their life condition and to promote a better management of shelters. We aimed at verifying which variables improved welfare...

Dare, P., Strasser, R. 2023. Ruff morning? The use of environmental enrichment during an acute stressor in kenneled shelter dogs. Animals 13(9), 1506.

The length of stay for some animals has increased with the recent reduction of animals euthanized in US shelters and animal control facilities. Research examining the effectiveness of different types of enrichment on buffering the...

Franks, B., Gaffney, L. P., Graham, C. et al. 2023. Curiosity in zebrafish (Danio rerio)? Behavioral responses to 30 novel objects. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 9, 1062420.

Curiosity—the motivation to seek out information—has been studied widely across the animal kingdom. To investigate curiosity in zebrafish we presented 30 novel objects to groups of zebrafish housed in semi-naturalistic tanks (6 tanks; 10 fish/tank...

Jorge, S., Félix, L., Costas, B. et al. 2023. Housing conditions affect adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) behavior but not their physiological status. Animals 13(6), 1120.

Zebrafish is a valuable model for neuroscience research, but the housing conditions to which it is exposed daily may be impairing its welfare status. The use of environmental enrichment and the refinement of methodology for...

Lee, G.-H., Jo, W., Kang, T.-K. et al. 2023. Assessment of stress caused by environmental changes for improving the welfare of laboratory beagle dogs. Animals 13(6), 1095.

Animal stress is influenced by environmental factors, yet only a few studies have evaluated the effects of environmental stress on captive dogs. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of environmental and social enrichment on...

Pennington, E., Springer, C., Albright, J. et al. 2023. Evaluation of different methods of environmental enrichment to control anxiety in dogs undergoing hemilaminectomy after acute intervertebral disc extrusion: A randomized double-blinded study. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 10, 1124982.

The goal of this randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study was to evaluate the effect of environmental enrichment (EE) on post-operative pain and anxiety in dogs following hemilaminectomy for acute intervertebral disc extrusion (IVDE).MethodsTwenty healthy client-owned dogs...

Buenhombre, J., Daza-Cardona, E. A., Sousa, P. et al. 2023. Structural environmental enrichment and the way it is offered influence cognitive judgement bias and anxiety-like behaviours in zebrafish. Animal Cognition 26, 563–577.

Environmental enrichment in zebrafish generally reduces anxiety-related behaviours, improves learning in maze trials and increases health and biological fitness. However, certain types of enrichment or certain conditions induce the opposite effects. Therefore, it is essential...

Meira, J. E. S., Nogueira-Filho, S. L. G., Mendl, M. et al. 2023. Responses to environmental enrichment are associated with personality characteristics in chestnut-bellied seed finches (Sporophila angolensis). Behavioural Processes 204, 104801.

Environmental enrichment (EE) is used to promote natural behaviours in captive animals and may hold promise as a form of pre-release training, a strategy for improving coping skills of translocated birds. We investigated the use...

Buenhombre, J., Daza-Cardona, E. A., Sousa, P. et al. 2023. Structural environmental enrichment and the way it is offered influence cognitive judgement bias and anxiety-like behaviours in zebrafish. Animal Cognition 26(2), 563–577.

Environmental enrichment in zebrafish generally reduces anxiety-related behaviours, improves learning in maze trials and increases health and biological fitness. However, certain types of enrichment or certain conditions induce the opposite effects. Therefore, it is essential...

Chan, K., Arellano, C., Horowitz, A. 2023. Here puppy, chew on this: Short-term provision of toys does not improve welfare in companion dogs. Animals 13(21), 3340.

Retail dog toys are often provided to companion animals to provide cognitive and physical stimu- lation and improve the animals’ quality of life. These toys, sometimes known as “enrichment toys”, have been shown to play...

Gunter, L. M., Blade, E. M., Gilchrist, R. J. et al. 2023. The influence of brief outing and temporary fostering programs on shelter dog welfare. Animals 13(22), 3528.

Human interaction is one of the most consistently effective interventions that can improve the welfare of shelter-living dogs. Time out of the kennel with a person has been shown to reduce physiological measures of stress...

Littlewood, K. E., Heslop, M. V., Cobb, M. L. 2023. The agency domain and behavioral interactions: Assessing positive animal welfare using the Five Domains Model. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 10.
Mair, A., Dadda, M., Kitaoka, A. et al. 2023. Illu-shoal choice: An exploration of different means for enrichment of captive zebrafish. Animals 13(16), 2640.

Fish of any variety are nowadays being kept captive for several purposes, from recreational to alimentary to research. It is possible that we humans often underestimate or misunderstand the basic, natural needs of the species...

van der Laan, J. E., Vinke, C. M., Arndt, S. S. 2023. Nocturnal activity as a useful indicator of adaptability of dogs in an animal shelter and after subsequent adoption. Scientific Reports 13(1), 19014.

Dogs in shelters are faced with the challenge of adapting to a kennel after relinquishment and to a novel home after adoption. To measure adaptability of dogs, more feasible behavioural and physiological parameters need to...

Wilson, C., Hall, N., Aviles-Rosa, E. O. et al. 2023. The effect of repeated testing on judgement bias in domestic dogs (Canis familiaris). Animal Cognition 26(2), 477–489.

Judgement bias paradigms are increasingly being used as a measure of affective state in dogs. Approach to an ambiguous stimulus is commonly used as a measure of affect, however, this may also be influenced by...

Wood, H., Voros, G. B. 2023. Increasing the psychological wellbeing of zebrafish (Danio rerio) and African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis) at the Cleveland Clinic. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 11(6) (November/December), 38-40.

With the increased use of aquatic animals in research, especially zebrafish and African clawed frogs, there has been an increased interest in how to best address their psychological wellbeing. In this article, we have shown...

Benato, L., Murrell, J., Rooney, N. 2023. Determining a cut-off point for intervention analgesia in rabbits using the Bristol Rabbit Pain Scale. Veterinary Record 193(5), e2995.

Background: The objective of this study was to determine the threshold of the Bristol Rabbit Pain Scale (BRPS) indicating the need for intervention analgesia. Methods: Fourteen members of veterinary staff were recruited to rate rabbits...

Camson, C. T., Palillo, J. A., Fehrenbach, L. A. et al. 2023. Evaluation of disinfection methods for artificial plants in zebrafish (Danio rerio) recirculating water systems. JAALAS 62(6), 512–517.

The use of artificial plants as environmental enrichment for zebrafish (Danio rerio) in biomedical research facilities has been shown to provide benefits in animal welfare and care. Despite the benefits of artificial plants to zebrafish...

Gallas-Lopes, M., Benvenutti, R., Donzelli, N. I. Z. et al. 2023. A systematic review of the impact of environmental enrichment in zebrafish. Lab Animal 52(12), 332-343.

Environmental enrichment (EE) consists of a series of interventions carried out in the home environment to promote greater exposure to sensory stimuli and mimic the natural habitat of laboratory-housed animals, providing environments closer to those...

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...