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...

Robinson, L. M., Weiss, A. (Eds.) 2023. Nonhuman Primate Welfare: From History, Science, and Ethics to Practice. Springer, Cham, Switzerland. 671 p.

This volume reviews the broad topic of welfare in nonhuman primates under human care. Chapters detail the history of primates in captivity, ethical and legal issues surrounding the use of nonhuman primates as entertainment or...

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...

Paranjape, V. V., Garcia-Pereira, F. L., Menciotti, G. et al. 2023. Evaluation of electrical cardiometry for measuring cardiac output and derived hemodynamic variables in comparison with lithium dilution in anesthetized dogs. Animals 13(14), 2362.

Numerous cardiac output (CO) technologies were developed to replace the ‘gold standard’ pulmonary artery thermodilution due to its invasiveness and the risks associated with it. Minimally invasive lithium dilution (LiD) shows excellent agreement with thermodilution...

Trębacz, P., Frymus, J., Barteczko, A. et al. 2023. Accuracy of instrument portal placement using a custom-made 3D-printed aiming device versus free hand technique in canine elbow arthroscopy. Animals 13(23), 3592.

While the insertion of the arthroscope into the elbow joint is relatively easy based on anatomical landmarks, obtaining a correctly located instrument portal is often difficult. Therefore, the goal of the study was to create...

Rexroat, E. K., Haughton, C. L., Fox, K. 2023. Using a cost-effective, efficient method to train young dogs to cooperate for multiple blood collection procedures in a pharmacokinetics study. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 11(6) (November/December), 34-36.

Behavioral testing slings, such as the Pavlov sling, offer an effective form of restraint for beagles while minimizing stress. Although these slings provide effective restraint, their high cost makes them less likely to be considered...

Alizadeh, E. A., Graf, K., Schiwon, J. et al. 2023. Thirty years of telemetry-based data acquisition for cardiovascular drug safety evaluation: Applications and optimization. Journal of Pharmacological and Toxicological Methods 122, 107279.

Conducting safety evaluations of new drugs using conscious animals has been a specialty of our working group for thirty years. In this article, we review the various technical challenges and solutions dealt with over the...

Wess, L., Böhm, A., Schützinger, M. et al. 2022. Effect of cooperative care training on physiological parameters and compliance in dogs undergoing a veterinary examination – A pilot study. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 250, 105615.

One way to reduce fear and lack of compliance during veterinary procedures is ‘cooperative care training’, training animals to voluntarily participate in husbandry and medical care. Here we assessed the effects of cooperative care training...

Nicolis, I. N., Beale, C. N., Bidot, W. A. et al. 2022. Performance and consistency of circulating warm water blankets for rodents. JAALAS 61(1), 96-100.

General anesthesia as used for rodent research can have adverse effects on physiologic mechanisms. Thermoregulation is often greatly inhibited, with resultant deleterious effects on cardiac and respiratory function. These potential effects can be mitigated by...

Knaebe, B., Weiss, C. C., Zimmermann, J. et al. 2022. The promise of behavioral tracking systems for advancing primate animal welfare. Animals 12(13), 1648.

Recent years have witnessed major advances in the ability of computerized systems to track the positions of animals as they move through large and unconstrained environments. These systems have so far been a great boon...

O’Neil, B. A., Linklater, A. K J. 2022. Supplemental reflective blankets and wool socks help maintain body temperature in dogs undergoing celiotomy procedures: A prospective randomized controlled clinical trial. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 260(11), 1316-1323.

OBJECTIVE: To compare results for body (esophageal) temperature measurements obtained during celiotomy in normothermic (presurgical) canine patients receiving routine heat support versus routine heat support plus supplemental support (consisting of covering the thorax in a...

Shyan-Norwalt, M. 2021. Applications of behavioral training to laboratory animals. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 9(1) (January/February), 13-15.

How many of us have had this experience? We go to a conference, we read an article, we watch a video. We understand operant conditioning. We grasp the concepts behind clicker training, target training, and...

Prior, H., Holbrook, M. 2021. Strategies to encourage the adoption of social housing during cardiovascular telemetry recordings in non-rodents. Journal of Pharmacological and Toxicological Methods 108, 106959.

The National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) is working with industry to promote social housing during cardiovascular telemetry recordings within non-rodent safety pharmacology and toxicology studies. Following surveys...

Sørensen, D., Cloutier, S., Gaskill, B. (Eds.). 2021. Animal-centric Care and Management - Enhancing Refinement in Biomedical Research. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.

The concept of the 3Rs (Refinement, Reduction and Replacement) has been used as a framework for improving the welfare of laboratory animals for the last half century. By establishing an animal-centric view on housing and...

Onozawa, E., Azakami, D., Seki, S. et al. 2021. Effect of an insulation device in preventing hypothermia during magnetic resonance imaging examinations for dogs and cats under general anesthesia. Animals 11(8), 2378.

Dogs and cats under general anesthesia may develop hypothermia. When performing a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination, it is not possible to place a magnetic material in the MRI room, and MRI equipment requires a...

Hodges, S. 2021. Practical Canine Behaviour: For Veterinary Nurses and Technicians (2nd ed). CABI, Wallingford, UK.

In this book Stephanie Hedges draws on more than 20 years as a practicing veterinary nurse and her training as a Certificated Clinical Animal Behaviourist (CCAB). She provides a quick reference and practically relevant canine...

Wang, P., Ma, Y., Liang, F. et al. 2020. Non-contact vital signs monitoring of dog and cat using a UWB radar. Animals 10(2), 205.

As pets are considered members of the family, their health has received widespread attention. Since pets cannot talk and complain when they feel uncomfortable, monitoring vital signs becomes very helpful in disease detection, as well...

Reinhardt, V. (ed.) 2020. It’s Okay to Cry - Discussions by the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum [LAREF], Volume V. Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, DC.

This is the 5th volume of selected discussions that took place on the electronic Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum between February 2016 and December 2019. The forum was created in October 2002; it allows...

Rankins, E. M., Wickens, C. L. 2020. A systematic review of equine personality. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 231, 105076.

Examining the literature suggests equine personality is of interest to behavior and welfare scientists and those involved in the equine industry. Study and assessment of personality is critical because of the profound implications certain traits...

Ladewig, J. 2019. Body language: Its importance for communication with horses. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 29, 108-110.

Body language is important for communication between individuals. Body language is based on the fact that the thought of performing a known action, alone, will activate the motor neurons used for the action, resulting in...

Huisman, I., Van Iwaarden, S., Hughes, E. et al. 2019. Clicker training in horses; the importance of the time between click and reward. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 29, 148. (13th International Society of Equitation Science (ISES) Conference Abstract)

Timing of reward is very important when training horses. Incorrect timing can lead to confusion and deleterious behaviors and learning will be impaired. Clicker training can be used as an important tool in training. However...

Ladewig, J. 2019. Body language: its importance for communication with horses. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 29, 147-148. (13th International Society of Equitation Science (ISES) Conference Abstract)

Body language is important for communication between individuals. Body language is based on the fact that the thought, alone of performing a known action will activate the motor neurons used for the action, resulting in...

Mather, J. A., Carere, C. 2019. Consider the individual: Personality and welfare in invertebrates. In: The Welfare of Invertebrate Animals. Carere, C., Mather, J. (eds), 229-245. Springer, Cham.

Personality, defined as consistent between-individual variation in clusters of behavioral traits independent of factors such as age or sex, emerges in most animal species tested so far. The number of invertebrate species discovered to have...

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...