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. 
Müller, C. A., Riemer, S., Rosam, C. M. et al. 2012. Brief owner absence does not induce negative judgement bias in pet dogs. Animal Cognition 15(5), 1031–1035.

Humans in a negative emotional state are more likely to judge ambiguous stimuli as negative. In recent years, similar judgement biases have been found in some non-human animals that were exposed to long-term or short-term...

Bechard, A., Meagher, R., Mason, G. 2011. Environmental enrichment reduces the likelihood of alopecia in adult C57BL/6J mice. JAALAS 50(2), 71-74.

Barbering (incessant grooming) is an abnormal behavior causing alopecia and commonly affects various strains of laboratory mice, including C57BL/6J. Barbering-induced alopecia is a potential symptom of brain impairment and can indicate a stressful environment. We...

Reinhardt, V. 2011. Home for Life - Sanctuaries for Abandoned Pets. Viktor Reinhardt, Mt. Shasta.

This book focuses primarily on human kindness and compassion rather than on human cruelty, callousness, indifference, and egocentric endeavors. It is common knowledge that many lay people and professional researchers treat animals in their charge...

Tosa, N., Yoshimatsu, K., Arikawa, J. 2011. Effect of environmental enrichment after the occurrence of wet bedding created by mice and abnormal fur in mice. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 779-780 (Abstract #P161).

In management of laboratory animals, wet bedding created by mice and abnormal fur in mice cause problems on housing, leading to negative effects both on the wellbeing of mice and on the validity of experimental...

Nam-Mi Gross, A., Engela, A. K. J., Würbel, H. 2011. Simply a nest? Effects of different enrichments on stereotypic and anxiety-related behaviour in mice. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 134(3-4), 239-245 .

Improving the home cages of laboratory mice by environmental enrichment has been widely used to reduce cage stereotypies and anxiety-related behaviour in behavioural tests. However, enrichment studies differ substantially in type, complexity and variation of...

Coleman, K. 2011. Caring for nonhuman primates in biomedical research facilities: Scientific, moral and emotional considerations. American Journal of Primatology 73(3), 220-225.

Animal care for nonhuman primates (NHPs) in biomedical facilities has undergone major changes in the past few decades. Today, most primate facilities have dedicated and highly trained animal care technicians who go to great efforts...

Bortolini, T. S., Bicca-Marques, J. C. 2011. The effect of environmental enrichment and visitors on the behaviour and welfare of two captive hamadryas baboons (Papio hamadryas). Animal Welfare 20(4), 573-579.

The welfare of zoo animals depends on a combination of physical, social, dietary and other ecological characteristics of the captive setting. We analysed the influence of the transfer of an adult couple of hamadryas baboons...

Bennett, K. J., Hill, V. A., Brock, K. et al. 2011. Enhanced canine enrichment and its effects on staff morale. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 772 (Abstract #P123).

The use of dogs in research has been under increasing public scrutiny and criticism over the past several years, and our institution has been no exception. Of particular concern is the use of Class B...

Andrews-Kelly, G. 2010. Canine socialization through the use of playrooms or exercise rooms. Enrichment Record 5, 7-9.

Comprehensive enrichment programs for dogs, while not required by regulations, are becoming more common in research facilities. Many institutions are providing chewable enrichment devices and pair or group housing for their canine colonies. Human interaction...

Moreau, E. 2010. To squeeze or not to squeeze? A Discussion on LAREF, September, 2009. Laboratory Primate Newsletter 49(2), 3-4.

The discussion was started by the following questions: "Is the squeeze-back mechanism more or less stressful than the pole and collar system for removing a macaque from his cage for an IM (intramuscular) injection?" and...

Fultz, A., Brent, L., Loeser, E. 2010. Abnormal behaviors in sanctuary chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). American Journal of Primatology 72(S1), 28-29. (33rd Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists Scientific Program, Abstract #10)

Chimp Haven has retired 153 chimpanzees, the majority from biomedical research, and abnormal behavior patterns have been reported. Abnormal behaviors are well described in chimpanzees and usually related to early rearing environment, social isolation and...

Egeler, J. L., Hoekwater, S., Hoffman, H. D. 2010. Monitoring program for the treatment of nonhuman primates with behavioral disorders. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 717 (Abstract #P113).

Maintaining the psychologic wellbeing of nonhuman primates housed in a laboratory setting is an important aspect in providing the best possible care for these animals. Nonhuman primates kept in captivity can begin to display abnormal...

Turner, P. V., Ovari, J., Pinelli, C. et al. 2010. Long-term effects of housing and enrichment on affective behavior and responsiveness of Sprague-Dawley rats. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 658-659 (Abstract #PS12).

Most rodent studies evaluate different caging paradigms over short periods of time, which may not be realistic for typical colony settings. Inappropriate housing may lead to boredom, aggression, stereotypies, and altered metabolism, which in turn...

Tilly, S.-L. C., Dallaire, J., Mason, G. J. 2010. Middle-aged mice with enrichment-resistant stereotypic behaviour show reduced motivation for enrichment. Animal Behaviour 80(3), 363-373.

For captive animals, living in barren conditions leads to stereotypic behaviour that is hard to alleviate using environmental enrichment. This resistance to enrichment is often explained via mechanisms that decouple abnormal behaviour from current welfare...

Stewart, K. 2010. Effects of increased interaction between research rodents and their handlers. Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) Quarterly 59(1) Winter, 28-29.

We conclude that handling experimental animals more often than only at the time their cage is changes is beneficial.

Shulder, L., Ogbin, J. 2010. Zen Pen. Enrichment Record 5, 8.

At Huntingdon Life Sciences, we have developed a program to meet the exercise and socialization needs of our canines. Our program, entitled "Zen Pen" is a 30-minute weekly play session with at least two technicians...

Pawlowicz, A., Demner, A., Lewis, M. H. 2010. Effects of access to voluntary wheel running on the development of stereotypy. Behavioural Processes 83(3), 242-246.

Stereotyped motor behaviors are a common consequence of environmental restriction in a wide variety of species. Although environmental enrichment has been shown to substantially reduce stereotypy levels, the various components of enrichment have not been...

Harper, V., Frey, A., Bradley, D. et al. 2010. Recognizing and addressing stereotypic behaviors. Tech Talk [The Newsletter for Laboratory Animal Science Technicians] 15(4), 2.

The combination of mouse igloos and running wheels proved to be highly effective in reducing flipping, circling, and jumping.

Latham, N., Mason, G. 2010. Frustration and perseveration in stereotypic captive animals: Is a taste of enrichment worse than none at all? Behavioural Brain Research 211(1), 96-104.

Stereotypic behaviours are common in animals in impoverished housing, arising from two complementary processes: (1) thwarted attempts to perform motivated behaviours; (2) forebrain dysfunction impeding normal behavioural inhibition. When enriched animals are moved to impoverished...

Brilot, B. O., Asher, L., Bateson, M. 2010. Stereotyping starlings are more ‘pessimistic.’ Animal Cognition 13(5), 721–731.

Negative affect in humans and animals is known to cause individuals to interpret ambiguous stimuli pessimistically, a phenomenon termed ‘cognitive bias’. Here, we used captive European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) to test the hypothesis that a...

Videan, E. N., Ely, J., Lammey, M. et al. 2008. Successful elimination of self-injurious behavior (SIB) in a chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes): a case study using a combination of risperidone and environmental enrichment. American Journal of Primatology 70(S1), 50. (31st Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists Scientific Program, Abstract #91)

Self-injurious behavior (SIB) can result in open wounds, tissue damage, and increased risk of infection. In many cases, increased environmental enrichment is not consistently effective in eliminating this behavior. We report here on the successful...

Kuhar, C. W., Smith, K., Soltis, J. 2008. The visitor effect on apes: real or imaginary? Enriching or stressful? American Journal of Primatology 70(S1), 23 (31st Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists Scientific Program, Abstract #8).

The “visitor effect” problem, whether zoo visitors are stressful or enriching to zoo animals, is made difficult to analyze by numerous methodological challenges. The extremes in visitor attendance patterns during the holiday season at Disney’s...

Jarvis, K. A., Gould, J. E. 2007. Effects of a complex enrichment device on stereotypic behaviors, tool use, tool manufacturing, and activity budgets in captive western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla). American Journal of Primatology 69(S1), 51. (30th Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists Scientific Program, Abstract #44)

As a way to reduce abnormal behaviors, specifically finger-sucking, hair-pulling, and reingestion/regurgitation, observed in two male gorillas at The ZOO Northwest Florida, a complex enrichment device that was contingent on the gorilla's ability to use...

Kulpa-Eddy, J. A., Taylor, S., Adams, K. M. 2005. USDA perspectives on environmental enrichment for animals. ILAR Journal 46(2), 83-94.

This article provides a brief historical background of the events and circumstances that led to the 1985 Animal Welfare Act (AWA) amendments. It describes the development of the regulations promulgated by the US Department of...

Barley, J. B., Bell, L., Duff, R. et al. 2004. Working with pound dogs in the research laboratory: a discussion by the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum. Animal Technology and Welfare 3(3), 165-167.

To summarize, working with pound dogs is emotionally more challenging but at the same time often more rewarding than working with purpose-bred dogs. The affectionate human attachment is a warranty for the pound dog to...