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...

Bellini, L., Schrank, M., Veladiano, I. A. et al. 2023. Retrospective comparison of the effects of laryngeal mask and endotracheal tube on some cardio-respiratory variables in pet rabbits undergoing anaesthesia for elective gonadectomy. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 65(1), 10.

Endotracheal intubation in rabbits is challenging and supraglottic airway devices, such as laryngeal masks (LMA), represent an alternative as they are easy to insert, and do not stimulate the larynx requiring therefore a lighter plane...

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...

Krunt, O., Zita, L., Kraus, A. et al. 2023. Effects of genotype and housing system on rabbit does’ aggressive behaviors and injuries in smallholding conditions. Animals 13(8), 1357.

The objective of the study was to investigate the effects of housing (deep litter + concrete floor vs. deep litter + ground soil with the possibility to dig burrows), and genotype (Mecklenburg or Hyplus) on...

Kumar, P., Abubakar, A. A., Ahmed, M. A. et al. 2023. Electroencephalogram and physiological responses as affected by slaughter empathy in goats. Animals 13(6), 1100.

Recent advances in emotions and cognitive science make it imperative to assess the emotional stress in goats at the time of slaughter. The present study was envisaged to study the electroencephalogram and physiological responses as...

Lambertini, C., Grandis, A., De Silva, M. et al. 2023. The spritztube: A new device for extraglottic intubation of rabbits. Animals 13(1), 156.

The Spritztube (ST) is an extraglottic airway device developed for humans. The aim of the study was to design an ST for rabbits and to evaluate its feasibility. The study was divided into two phases...

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...

Morgado, J. N., Lamonaca, E., Santeramo, F. G. et al. 2023. Effects of management strategies on animal welfare and productivity under heat stress: A synthesis. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 10, 1145610.

Climate change includes different dramatic events, and among them, heat stress exposition is the strongest phenomenon affecting the livestock sector. The effects of heat stress events on animal welfare are complex and the economic impacts...

Zieliński, D. 2023. The effect of enrichment on leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius) housed in two different maintenace systems (rack system vs. Terrarium). Animals 13(6), 1111.

The aim of this study was to test the usefulness of environmental enrichment for Eublepharis macularius depending on the maintenance method (terrarium vs. rack system). The hypothesis was that reptiles kept in an extremely low-stimulus...

Rooney, N. J., Baker, P. E., Blackwell, E.-J. et al. 2023. Run access, hutch size and time-of-day affect welfare-relevant behaviour and faecal corticosterone in pair-housed pet rabbits. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 262, 105919.

Although there exist several studies examining the housing needs of rabbits kept in laboratories and for meat, studies of the requirements of pet rabbits are few and focus entirely on single rabbits. Pet rabbits are...

Höne, U., Krause, E. T., Bussemas, R. et al. 2023. Usage of outdoor runs and defaecation behaviour of fattening pigs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 258, 105821.

Access to an outdoor run improves the housing conditions of fattening pigs by an enlarged space allowance, access to different climatic conditions and environmental stimulation. One central conflicting issue regarding outdoor runs is the emission...

Clark, F. E. 2023. In the zone: Towards a comparative study of flow state in primates. Animal Behavior and Cognition 10(1), 62–88.

Flow is an altered state of feeling ‘in the zone’ when fully absorbed in a challenge and is associated with positive affective state (feelings). Despite almost five decades of research, Flow has not yet been...

Olczak, K., Penar, W., Nowicki, J. et al. 2023. The role of sound in livestock farming—Selected aspects. Animals 13(14), 2307.

To ensure the optimal living conditions of farm animals, it is essential to understand how their senses work and the way in which they perceive their environment. Most animals have a different hearing range compared...

Szabo, B., Ringler, E. 2023. Fear of the new? Geckos hesitate to attack novel prey, feed near objects and enter a novel space. Animal Cognition 26(2), 537–549.

Neophobia, the fear of novelty, is an ecologically important response which enables animals to avoid potentially harmful situations. Neophobia is a cognitive process by which individuals distinguish novelty from familiarity. In this study, we aimed...

Zhang, Y., Yu, J., Zhang, Y. et al. 2023. Emotional contagion and social support in pigs with the negative stimulus. Animals 13(20), 3160.

This study expects to confirm the existence of emotional transmission in pigs from multiple perspectives and to provide theoretical references for improving animal welfare in livestock farming. A group that could directly observe (DO) and...

Cuglovici, D. A. 2023. What can associations between emotional states and management-based measures teach us about shelter dogs’ welfare? Journal of Veterinary Behavior 69–70, 32–38.

It is crucial to understand the effect of living in a shelter on dog’s well-being. We hypothesized that mental states may indicate the presence of environmental stressors. The objective of this study was to determine...

Greene, L. K., Andriambeloson, J.-B., Blanco, M. B. et al. 2023. Forest access restores foraging and ranging behavior in captive sifakas. Zoo Biology 42(2), 209–222.

Captive wildlife benefit from ecologically informed management strategies that promote natural behaviors. The Duke Lemur Center has pioneered husbandry programs rooted in species’ ecology for a diversity of lemurs, including housing social groups in multiacre...

Martin, A. L., Walthers, C. M., Pattillo, M. J. et al. 2023. Impact of visual barrier removal on the behavior of shelter-housed dogs. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 26(4), 596–606.

With millions of dogs housed in shelters each year, it is important to consider how the shelter environment impacts welfare. Social isolation and a lack of control over the environment can negatively impact wellbeing. However...

Mercier, P., Honeckman, L., Jokela, F. et al. 2023. Using standardized scales to assess fear at veterinary visits: Intra- and inter-rater reliability. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 62, 12–17.

Behavioral, emotional, and physical signs of distress are increasingly recognized in veterinary patients during routine care. Fear and distress are humane and welfare concerns themselves, but such behavior may also result in deferred veterinary care...

Titto, C. G., Ricci, G. D. 2023. Behavioral and physiological changes in sows and piglets maintained in farrowing cages or open stalls during summer. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 63, 36–41.

Containment cages are one of the main causes of chronic stress and reduced welfare during swine production as well as in hot environments. The objective of this study was to evaluate behavioral changes and physiological...

Zapata Cardona, J., Ceballos, M. C., Tarazona Morales, A. M. et al. 2022. Music modulates emotional responses in growing pigs. Scientific Reports 12(1), 3382.

There is a lack of clarity on whether pigs can emotionally respond to musical stimulation and whether that response is related to music structure. Qualitative Behavioral Assessment (QBA) was used to evaluate effects of 16...

Zhang, J., Yu, L., Yin, G. 2022. Evaluation of behavior and affective state of different-parity sows with strong/weak pupil light reflex. Animals 12(9), 1184.

The stall-housing system is commonly used in the modern swine industry in many countries; however, long-term space restrictions can cause affective and physiological abnormalities in sows. The pupil light reflex (PLR) can reflect the psychological...

Kinane, O., Butler, F., O’Driscoll, K. 2022. Freedom to move: Free lactation pens improve sow welfare. Animals 12(14), 1762.

Farrowing crates present a major animal welfare problem. This study investigated the effects of temporary confinement at farrowing on sow welfare and aimed to determine whether this type of system could improve sow welfare through...

Conrad, L., Aubé, L., Heuchan, E. et al. 2022. Effects of farrowing hut design on maternal and thermoregulatory behaviour in outdoor housed sows and piglets. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 251, 105616.

This study aimed to determine the effect of three different farrowing huts on the behaviour of outdoor housed sows and piglets during summer in Eastern Canada, with a focus on thermoregulatory and crushing behaviours. Forty-two...