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. 
Squibb, K., Griffin, K., Favier, R. et al. 2018. Poker Face: Discrepancies in behaviour and affective states in horses during stressful handling procedures. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 202, 34-38.

Correct assessment of stress in horses is important for both horse welfare and handler safety during necessary aversive procedures. Handlers depend on behaviour when judging how well an individual is tolerating stressful procedures such as...

Hall, C., Randle, H., Pearson, G. et al. 2018. Assessing equine emotional state. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 205, 183-193.

The scientific study of animal emotion has recently become an important focus for animal behaviour and welfare researchers. For horses used by humans for work, recreation or sport, the question of the significance of their...

Hall, K., Bryant, J., Whitham, J. et al. 2018. Validating WelfareTrak® as a tool to improve the welfare of individual chimpanzees. American Journal of Primatology 80(S1), 33 (40th Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists Scientific Program, Abstract #68).

WelfareTrak® is a web application that gives animal care specialists the opportunity to complete weekly species‐specific surveys to monitor positive and negative indicators of welfare for individual animals. WelfareTrak® generates reports and “flags” potential shifts...

Bloomsmith, M. A., Lambeth, S., Lutz, C. et al. 2018. Welfare measures for laboratory chimpanzees in the United States. American Journal of Primatology 80(S1), 46-47 (40th Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists Scientific Program, Abstract #145).

Behavioral assessment is an essential element of chimpanzee care. Behavioral data were compiled from four chimpanzee laboratory facilities (N = 522; 286 females, 236 males) using differing methods of assessment including quantitative data collection, animal...

Lush, J., Ijichi, C. 2018. A preliminary investigation into personality and pain in dogs. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 24, 62-68.

Adherence to basic animal welfare standards involves effective monitoring and control of pain, especially in a veterinary setting. Assessment relies on behavioral and physiological indicators. However, individual differences in physiology mediate consistent individual differences in...

Galán, E., Llonch, P., Villagrá, A. et al. 2018. A systematic review of non-productivity-related animal-based indicators of heat stress resilience in dairy cattle. PLOS ONE 13(11), e0206520.

Projected temperature rise in the upcoming years due to climate change has increased interest in studying the effects of heat stress in dairy cows. Environmental indices are commonly used for detecting heat stress, but have...

Foris, B., Zebunke, M., Langbein, J. et al. 2018. Evaluating the temporal and situational consistency of personality traits in adult dairy cattle. PLOS ONE 13(10), e0204619.

Recent research suggests that personality, defined as consistent individual behavioral variation, in farm animals could be an important factor when considering their health, welfare, and productivity. However, behavioral tests are often performed individually and they...

Vázquez Diosdado, J. A., Barker, Z. E., Hodges, H. R. et al. 2018. Space-use patterns highlight behavioural differences linked to lameness, parity, and days in milk in barn-housed dairy cows. PLOS ONE 13(12), e0208424.

Lameness is a key health and welfare issue affecting commercial herds of dairy cattle, with potentially significant economic impacts due to the expense of treatment and lost milk production. Existing lameness detection methods can be...

Buisman, L. L., Alsaaod, M., Bucher, E. et al. 2018. Objective assessment of lameness in cattle after foot surgery. PLOS ONE 13(12), e0209783.

Assessment of lameness in cattle after foot surgery is important to monitor the recovery period, to improve the long-term success and the cows’ welfare. This longitudinal multicenter retrospective study was carried out to evaluate the...

Unakafov, A. M., Möller, S., Kagan, I. et al. 2018. Using imaging photoplethysmography for heart rate estimation in non-human primates. PLOS ONE 13(8), e0202581.

For humans and for non-human primates heart rate is a reliable indicator of an individual’s current physiological state, with applications ranging from health checks to experimental studies of cognitive and emotional state. In humans, changes...

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...

Reid, J., Nolan, A. M., Scott, E. M. 2018. Measuring pain in dogs and cats using structured behavioural observation. The Veterinary Journal 236, 72-79.

The contemporary approach to pain measurement in people and animals seeks to measure the affective (emotional) component of the pain experience using structured questionnaires with formal scoring methodology. Chronic pain has wide-ranging impacts which affects...

Deckers, N., Ruigrok, C. A., Verhoeve, H. P. et al. 2018. Comparison of pain response after subcutaneous injection of two maropitant formulations to beagle dogs. Veterinary Record Open 5(1), e000262.

The antiemetic maropitant, with metacresol as preservative (Cerenia, Zoetis), has been associated with pain after subcutaneous injection in dogs and cats. Recently, a generic formulation containing benzyl alcohol was authorised (Prevomax, Le Vet). Benzyl alcohol...

Cronin, K. A., Bethell, E. J., Jacobson, S. L. et al. 2018. Evaluating mood changes in response to anthropogenic noise with a response-slowing task in three species of zoo-housed primates. Animal Behavior and Cognition 5(2), 209–221.

In the zoo environment, anthropogenic noise is common as sound levels fluctuate due to visitors, construction, habitat design, and special events. In this study, changes in the mood of three species of zoo-housed primates in...

Zamansky, A., Bleuer-Elsner, S., Masson, S. et al. 2018. Effects of anxiety on canine movement in dog-robot interactions. Animal Behavior and Cognition 5(4), 380–387.

Canine behavioral disorders, such as various forms of fear and anxiety, are a major threat for the wellbeing of dogs and their owners. They are also the main cause for dog abandonment and relinquishment to...

Pawluski, J., Jego, P., Henry, S. et al. 2017. Low plasma cortisol and fecal cortisol metabolite measures as indicators of compromised welfare in domestic horses (Equus caballus). PLOS ONE 12(9), e0182257.

The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis response to chronic stress is far from straight forward, particularly with regards to animal welfare. There are reports of no effect as well as both decreases and increases in cortisol after...

Viksten, S. M., Visser, E. K., Nyman, S. 2017. Developing a horse welfare assessment protocol. Animal Welfare 26(1), 59-65.

This paper describes the development and pilot-testing of a horse welfare assessment protocol (HWAP). The HWAP consists of the collective measurement of numerous factors considered likely to affect a horse's welfare and is thereby designed...

Hintze, S., Roth, E., Bachmann, I. et al. 2017. Toward a choice-based judgment bias task for horses. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 20(2), 123-136.

Judgment bias tasks for nonhuman animals are promising tools to assess emotional valence as a measure of animal welfare. In view of establishing a valid judgment bias task for horses, the present study aimed to...

Sadiq, M., Ramanoon, S., Shaik Mossadeq, W. et al. 2017. Association between lameness and indicators of dairy cow welfare based on locomotion scoring, body and hock condition, leg hygiene and lying behavior. Animals 7(11), 79.

Dairy cow welfare is an important consideration for optimal production in the dairy industry. Lameness affects the welfare of dairy herds by limiting productivity. Whilst the application of LS systems helps in identifying lame cows...

Musk, G., Jacobsen, S., Hyndman, T. et al. 2017. Objective measures for the assessment of post-operative pain in Bos indicus bull calves following castration. Animals 7(10), 76.

The aim of the study was to assess pain in Bos indicus bull calves following surgical castration. Forty-two animals were randomised to four groups: no castration (NC, n = 6); castration with pre-operative lidocaine (CL...

Oliver, V. L., Athavale, S., Simon, K. E. et al. 2017. Evaluation of pain assessment techniques and analgesia efficacy in a female guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) model of surgical pain. JAALAS 56(4), 425-435.

Guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) are a frequently used species in research, often involving potentially painful procedures. Therefore, evidence-based recommendations regarding analgesia are critically needed to optimize their wellbeing. Our laboratory examined the efficacy of carprofen...

Sommerville, R., O’Connor, E. A., Asher, L. 2017. Why do dogs play? Function and welfare implications of play in the domestic dog. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 197, 1-8.

Play is an enigmatic behaviour, the function of which is still debated, despite more than a century of research. We discuss the evolutionary function of play behaviour, focusing on the domestic dog (Canis familiaris), a...

Robinson, L. M., Altschul, D. M., Wallace, E. K. et al. 2017. Chimpanzees with positive welfare are happier, extraverted, and emotionally stable. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 191, 90-97.

Facilities housing captive animals are full of staff who, every day, interact with the animals under their care. The expertise and familiarity of staff can be used to monitor animal welfare by means of questionnaires...

Ebinghaus, A., Ivemeyer, S., Lauks, V. et al. 2017. How to measure dairy cows’ responsiveness towards humans in breeding and welfare assessment? A comparison of selected behavioural measures and existing breeding traits. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 196, 22-29.

For dairy cattle breeding as well as animal welfare science reliability and validity issues regarding measures of cows’ responsiveness towards humans are relevant. The objective of this study was to investigate reliability and validity aspects...

Lambert (Proctor), H. S., Carder, G. 2017. Looking into the eyes of a cow: Can eye whites be used as a measure of emotional state? Applied Animal Behaviour Science 186, 1-6.

A number of studies have looked at whether the percentage of visible eye whites could be a reliable and dynamic tool for measuring emotional state in cattle. In this study we have built upon previous...