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. 
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...

Burman, O., Buccarello, L., Redaelli, V. et al. 2014. The effect of two different individually ventilated cage systems on anxiety-related behaviour and welfare in two strains of laboratory mouse. Physiology & Behavior 124, 92-99.

The environment in which a laboratory animal is housed can significantly influence its behaviour and welfare, acting as a potential confounding factor for those studies in which it is utilised. This study investigated the impact...

Spangenberg, E., Wallenbeck, A., Eklöf, A.-C. et al. 2014. Housing breeding mice in three different IVC systems: Maternal performance and pup development. Laboratory Animals 48(3), 193–206.

A proper cage environment is essential for the welfare of laboratory mice, especially for females during the energy demanding lactation period and for pups during early development and growth. The most common housing system for...

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...

Reinhardt, V. (ed.) 2013. Compassion Makes a Difference - Discussions by the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum [LAREF], Volume III. Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, DC.

This is the third volume of discussions that took place on the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum (LAREF). This forum is dedicated to the exchange of personal experiences of refining the conditions under which...

Sposato, M. 2013. Benefits of an enhanced enrichment program for a canine research colony. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 669 (Abstract #P176).

The overall benefits of an enrichment and exercise program for research canines has been well documented and is a required element, by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), of any institution’s Animal Care and...

Hrapkiewicz, K., Colby, L. A., Denison, P. 2013. Clinical Laboratory Animal Medicine: An Introduction (4th Ed). Wiley-Blackwell, Ames, IA.

Clinical Laboratory Animal Medicine: An Introduction, Fourth Edition offers a user-friendly guide to the unique anatomy and physiology, care, common diseases, and treatment of small mammals and nonhuman primates. Carefully designed for ease of use...

Gruen, M. E., Thomson, A. E., Clary, G. P. et al. 2013. Conditionining laboratory cats to handling and transport. Lab Animal 42(10), 385-389.

As research subjects, cats have contributed substantially to our understanding of biological systems, from the development of mammalian visual pathways to the pathophysiology of feline immunodeficiency virus as a model for human immunodeficiency virus. Few...

David, J. M., Knowles, S., Lamkin, D. M. et al. 2013. Individually ventilated cages impose cold stress on laboratory mice: A source of systemic experimental variability. JAALAS 52(6), 738-744.

Individual ventilated cages (IVC) are increasing in popularity. Although mice avoid IVC in preference testing, they show no aversion when provided additional nesting material or the cage is not ventilated. Given the high ventilation rate...

David, J. M., Stout, D. 2013. Individually ventilated cages impose cold-stress on laboratory mice: A source of systemic experimental variability. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 610 (Abstract #PS10).

Individual ventilated cages (IVC) have recently been increasing in popularity. Based on the high rates of ventilation with IVCs, we developed 3 hypotheses: first, mice housed in IVCs experience significantly more cold-stress than mice housed...

Watts, N., Crimes, S. 2012. Novel canine housing in the United Kingdom: A welfare perspective. Tech Talk [The Newsletter for Laboratory Animal Science Technicians] 17(3), 3.

Since opening in 2008, a consistent observation has been that the dogs are significantly quieter and easier to handle in their new surroundings in comparison to the old facility. This may be due to specific...

Shair, H. N., Nunez, Y., Osman, M. M. 2012. Enrichment materials do not negatively affect reproductive success and offspring survival and weight in mice. Lab Animal 41(1), 14-19.

Environmental enrichment is designed to improve the overall welfare of laboratory animals, including mice. Few studies have directly assessed the effects of different types of enrichment on mouse offspring survival and growth. The authors examined...

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...

Veillette, M., Reebs, S. G. 2011. Shelter choice by Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) in the laboratory. Animal Welfare 20(4), 603-611.

The preference of Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) for different in-cage shelters was tested. First, 15 males and 15 females were made to choose between a cage with a shelter and one without. Different shelters were...

Scales, M., McDonald, K. M. 2011. Factors influencing the preferred nesting location of laboratory mice. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 773 (Abstract #P128).

Understanding the preferred nesting location of laboratory mice within the cage may serve as a useful, objective, behavioral assessment tool. To determine if caging ventilation rates influenced nesting location, we observed nesting site (front, middle...

Paula, A. A., Goyeneche, L., Crispo, M. 2011. Refining housing and husbandry techniques in transgenic mice through environmental enrichment. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 777 (Abstract #P148).

Dynamic changes in housing and husbandry techniques based on the concept of 3Rs should be included as routine practice in breeding and experimental animal facilities tending to improve animal welfare. Immunosupressed mice are susceptible to...

Pasalic, I., Bosnjak, B., Ivetic Tkalcevic, V. et al. 2011. Cage enrichment with paper tissue, but not plastic tunnels, increases variability in mouse model of asthma. Laboratory Animals 45(2), 121-123.

Environmental enrichment, besides having a great impact on animal welfare, can also be a potential variable in experimental research. Thus, we investigated whether enrichment of cages with paper tissues or plastic tunnels affects scientific outcome...

Neves, S. 2011. Effects of environmental enrichment on the production of C57BL/6 mice kept in different housing systems. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 788 (Abstract #P201).

The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of environmental enrichment on the performance of C57BL/6 mice kept in conventional animal facilities (open cage; OC) and individually ventilated caging system (IVC). We analyzed...

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...

Griess, R. S. 2011. Environmental enrichment improves fertility and pup survival. Tech Talk [The Newsletter for Laboratory Animal Science Technicians] 16(1), 2-3.

Historically, we have added approximately half a cup of shredded aspen bedding for nest making into each littering cage. This procedure was continued as we looked into additional environmental enrichment. There are many types of...

Gaskill, B., Winnicker, C. L., Garner, J. P. et al. 2011. The naked truth: Breeding performance in outbred and inbred strains of nude mice with and without nesting material. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 741 (Abstract #PS95).

In laboratories, mice are housed at ambient temperatures between 20 to 24 °C, which is below their lower critical temperature of 30 °C, but comfortable for human workers. Thus, mice are thermally stressed, which can...

Gaskill, B., Garner, J. P., Pritchett-Corning, K. 2011. Energy reallocation to breeding performance through improved behavioral thermoregulation. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 771 (Abstract #P120).

Mice are housed at temperatures which increase their basal metabolic rates and impose high energy demands to maintain core temperatures. Thus, energy may be reallocated from other biologic processes to increase heat production. We hypothesized...

Breegi, S. 2011. Evaluation of nesting materials for use in nude mouse colonies. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 782 (Abstract #P171).

Nesting material has been reported to be beneficial to mice by providing environmental enrichment as well as a means of thermoregulation. Cotton nesting material has been reported to cause conjunctivitis in athymic nude mice. We...

Gaskill, B. N., Rohr, S., Lucas, J. R. et al. 2011. Working with what you've got: Changes in thermal preference and behavior in mice with or without nest material. Journal of Thermal Biology. 36(3), 193-199.

In laboratories mice are typically housed at ambient temperatures (Ta) of 20–24 °C, which are below their average preferred Ta of ≈30 °C. Adjusting laboratory Ta is not a solution because preferences differ depending on...

Swetter, B. J., Karpiak, C. P., Cannon, J. T. 2011. Separating the effects of shelter from additional cage enhancements for group-housed BALB/cJ mice. Neuroscience Letters 495(3), 205-209.

Enrichment studies with rodents have demonstrated that cage enhancements can improve animal welfare and performance on common behavioral measures, but few studies have compared more than one type of enrichment or controlled for confounds, and...