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. 
O'Keefe, S. 2016. Non-human primate housing facility at Newcastle University. Animal Technology and Welfare 15(2), 131-132.

Monkeys first arrived in the Comparative Biology Centre (CBC) at Newcastle University in 2000. They were housed in three small separate units consisting of steel and wooden cages. In 2011 a decision was made to...

Döring, D., Haberland, B. E., Ossig, A. et al. 2016. Behavior of laboratory beagles: Assessment in a standardized behavior test using novel stimuli and situations. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 11, 18-25.

Laboratory dogs should be sociable with humans and react in a relaxed way when confronted with new stimuli and situations. This is of particular advantage when dogs are used in animal experiments and for the...

Vinco, L. J., Archetti, I. L., Giacomelli, S. et al. 2016. Influence of crate height on the welfare of broilers during transport. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 14, 28-33.

Poultry transport systems are currently under investigation with a particular focus on design and dimensions of commercially available transport crates. The height of the crates currently used is debated and considered by some parties to...

Quadarella, M. A., Kundu, M. C., Alderfer, T. K. et al. 2016. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 4(4) (December), 47-49.

Our goal was to improve dog socialization by increasing novel human interactions, while also providing non-animal care staff opportunity to interact with the dogs. Our volunteer dog socialization program was developed to explore the possibility...

Ma, B., Green, J., Sizemore, S. et al. 2016. Variation on providing research dog enrichment. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 4(2) (June), 50-51.

In order to provide research dogs enrichment at our facility, veterinary staff suggested adapting the adjacent space to our dog housing buildings to allow for more species-specific behavior by creating an exercise area that both...

Prior, H., Bottomly, A., Champéroux, P. et al. 2016. Social housing of non-rodents during cardiovascular recordings in safety pharmacology and toxicology studies. Journal of Pharmacological and Toxicological Methods 81, 75-87.

Introduction: The Safety Pharmacology Society (SPS) and National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement & Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) conducted a survey and workshop in 2015 to define current industry practices relating to housing...

Sadekova, N., Boudreau, G., Jalbert, B. et al. 2016. The effects of housing conditions on baseline cardiovascular parameters and the sensitivity to detect changes in contractility in telemetry-implanted dogs. Journal of Pharmacological and Toxicological Methods 81, 60-74.

Introduction: There is a growing weight of evidence to suggest that myocardial contractility is an important parameter to assess as part of IND enabling studies in addition to standard assessments as per the ICH S7A...

Horowitz, A., Hecht, J. 2016. Examining dog–human play: The characteristics, affect, and vocalizations of a unique interspecific interaction. Animal Cognition 19(4), 779–788.

Despite the growing interest in research on the interaction between humans and dogs, only a very few research projects focus on the routines between dogs and their owners. In this study, we investigated one such...

Kiddie, J., Collins, L. 2015. Identifying environmental and management factors that may be associated with the quality of life of kenneled dogs (Canis familiaris). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 167, 43-55.

This paper describes the use of a validated quality of life assessment tool (described elsewhere) to identify environmental and management factors that may affect quality of life in dogs kennelled in rehoming centres. Dogs were...

Caron, A., Lelong, C., Pascual, M. H. et al. 2015. Miniaturized blood sampling techniques to benefit reduction in mice and refinement in nonhuman primates: Application to bioanalysis in toxicity studies with antibody-drug conjugates. JAALAS 54(2), 145-152.

Minimizing the number of animals in regulatory toxicity studies while achieving study objectives to support the development of future medicines contributes to good scientific and ethical practices. Recent advances in technology have enabled the development...

Pritchett-Corning, K. R., Gaskill, B. N. 2015. Lack of negative effects on Syrian hamsters and Mongolian gerbils housed in the same secondary enclosure. JAALAS 54(3), 261-266.

In cases where different species might be housed in the same room or secondary enclosure, the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals recommends that the animals should be behaviorally compatible and have...

Bloomsmith, M., Kim, N., Franklin, A. et al. 2015. Positive reinforcement methods to train chimpanzees to cooperate with urine collection. JAALAS 54, 66-69.

Positive reinforcement training can be used in many ways to enhance the welfare of captive primates. Training for biologic sample collection is one application of positive reinforcement training. In this study, 35 adult female chimpanzees...

Bayne, K. A., Beaver, B. V., Mench, J. A. et al. 2015. Laboratory animal behavior. In: Laboratory Animal Medicine, 3rd edition. Fox, J. G., Anderson, L., Otto, G., et al. (eds). Elsevier, Inc., Amsterdam, NL. pp. 1617-1651.

The study of laboratory animal behavior has increased steadily over the last decade, with expanding emphasis on a variety of commonly used species. In the United States, this trend was initially focused on species for...

Nääs, I. A., Garcia, R. G., Caldara, F. R. 2015. Infrared thermal image for assessing animal health and welfare. Journal of Animal Behaviour and Biometeorology 2(3), 66-72.

Infrared thermal imaging is a non-destructive testing technology that can be used to determine the superficial temperature of objects. This technology has an increasing use in detecting diseases and distress in animal husbandry within the...

Zenithson, Y. G., Pierce, B. J., Otto, C. M. et al. 2014. The effect of dog-human interaction on cortisol and behavior in registered animal-assisted activity dogs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 159, 69-81.

The effect of animal-assisted activities (AAA) on the animal participants has been minimally investigated, and the welfare of these animals has been questioned. To enhance our understanding of these animals’ welfare, we measured cortisol collected...

Wagner, D., Newbury, S., Kass, P. et al. 2014. Elimination behavior of shelter dogs housed in double compartment kennels. PLOS ONE 9(5), e96254.

For animals in confinement housing the housing structure has tremendous potential to impact well being. Dogs in animal shelters are often housed in one of two types of confinement housing – single kennels and rooms...

Reamer, L. A., Haller, R. H., Thiele, E. J. et al. 2014. Factors affecting initial training success of blood glucose testing in captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Zoo Biology 33(3), 212-220.

Type 2 diabetes can be a problem for captive chimpanzees. Accurate blood glucose (BG) readings are necessary to monitor and treat this disease. Thus, obtaining voluntary samples from primates through positive reinforcement training (PRT) is...

Kranendonk, G., Schippers, E. P. 2014. A pilot study on the effects of a change in behavioural management on the behaviour of captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 160, 127-137.

The debate on the use of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in biomedical research has been ongoing for several years now. In 2012, the decision was made to retire a large number of laboratory chimpanzees in the...

Normando, S., Contiero, B., Marchesini, G. et al. 2014. Effects of space allowance on the behaviour of long-term housed shelter dogs. Behavioural Processes 103, 306-314.

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of space allowance (4.5 m(2)/head vs. 9 m(2)/head) on the behaviour of shelter dogs (Canis familiaris) at different times of the day (from 10:30 to...

Flink, K., Castonguay, S. 2014. From the kennel to the couch: The transition of dogs from research to home. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 540 (Abstract #PS57).

Adoption of research dogs to private homes is increasingly common; however, the transition can be stressful. Our teaching dog program prepares former laboratory dogs for adoption by introducing challenges experienced in a home setting. All...

Shapiro, S. J., Reamer, L. A., Mareno, M. C. et al. 2014. Providing chimpanzees opportunities to voluntarily participate in their own care: Choice of medications. American Journal of Primatology 76(S1), 73 (37th Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists Scientific Program, Abstract #112).

Captivity often limits a primate’s ability to make meaningful choices on a daily basis. Effective captive (behavioral) management programs should provide primates with opportunities to make meaningful choices. In the present study, arthritic chimpanzees were...

Kurtycz, L. M., Wagner, K. E., Ross, S. R. 2014. The choice to access outdoor areas affects the behavior of great apes. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 17(3), 185–197.

Outdoor access is often cited as a critical component of appropriate housing for great apes in captivity, and although studies have shown that offering primates choices can improve welfare, choice to access specific areas has...

Piccione, G., Arfuso, F., Giannetto, C. et al. 2013. Effect of housing conditions and owner's schedule on daily total locomotor activity in dogs (Canis familiaris). Biological Rhythm Research 44, 778-786.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of housing conditions on daily rhythm of total locomotor activity in dogs. Seven clinically healthy dogs (Canis familiaris) were used and divided into two groups...

Shiverdecker, M. D., Schiml, P. A., Hennessy, M. B. 2013. Human interaction moderates plasma cortisol and behavioral responses of dogs to shelter housing. Physiology & Behavior 109, 75-79.

Housing in an animal shelter is a stressful experience for dogs. This study examined the effects of different forms of human interaction on concentrations of circulating cortisol and stress-related behaviors of dogs within 40 h...

Chelluri, G. I., Ross, S. R., Wagner, K. E. 2013. Behavioral correlates and welfare implications of informal interactions between caretakers and zoo-housed chimpanzees and gorillas. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 147, 306-315.

In captive animal facilities, human staff members are a relevant part of the animals’ social environment in addition to providing care and managing the social group. Structured, predictable interactions and relaxed, spontaneous contacts may all...