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. 
Rose, P. E., Nash, S. M., Riley, L. M. 2017. To pace or not to pace? A review of what abnormal repetitive behavior tells us about zoo animal management. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 20, 11-21.

Performance of abnormal repetitive behavior (ARB) is noted in many captive wild species. ARB can be categorized into 2 basic forms: those whose aim appears to be to compulsively reach an inappropriate goal and those...

Tucker, R. D. 2017. Woodchuck College. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 5(2) (June), 33-36.

Marmota monax is a valuable laboratory animal species used in studies of Hepatitis B virus (HBV), food intake, obesity, hibernation, and circannual cycles. This article describes the woodchuck’s (also known as groundhog) natural behavior and...

Monreal-Pawlowsky, T., Marco-Cabedo, V., Manteca, X. et al. 2017. Environmental enrichment facilitates release and survival of an injured loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) after ten years in captivity. Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research 5(4), 182-186.

In June 2006 a loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) was admitted to a rescue centre on the Mediterranean coast with severe fishing net entanglement in its fore right flipper. The flipper could not be saved...

Novak, J., Stojanovski, K., Melotti, L. et al. 2016. Effects of stereotypic behaviour and chronic mild stress on judgement bias in laboratory mice. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 174, 162-172.

Cognitive processes are influenced by underlying affective states, and tests of cognitive bias have recently been developed to assess the valence of affective states in animals. These tests are based on the fact that individuals...

Novak, J., Bailoo, J. D., Melotti, L. et al. 2016. Effect of cage-induced stereotypies on measures of affective state and recurrent perseveration in CD-1 and C57BL/6 mice. PLOS ONE 11(5), e0153203.

Stereotypies are abnormal repetitive behaviour patterns that are highly prevalent in laboratory mice and are thought to reflect impaired welfare. Thus, they are associated with impaired behavioural inhibition and may also reflect negative affective states...

Yamanashi, Y., Teramoto, M., Morimura, N. et al. 2016. Effects of relocation and individual and environmental factors on the long-term stress levels in captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): Monitoring hair cortisol and behaviors. PLOS ONE 11(7), e0160029.

Understanding the factors associated with the long-term stress levels of captive animals is important from the view of animal welfare. In this study, we investigated the effects of relocation in addition to individual and environmental...

Karrberg, L., Andersson, L., Kastenmayer, R. J. et al. 2016. Refinement of habituation procedures in diet-induced obese mice. Laboratory Animals 50(5), 397-399.

Orogastric gavage, while a common method for delivering experimental substances in mice, has been shown to induce stress. To minimize the associated stress with this procedure, sham gavage prior to the start of experiment is...

Cannon, T. H., Heistermann, M., Hankison, S. J. et al. 2016. Tailored enrichment strategies and stereotypic behavior in captive individually housed macaques (Macaca spp.). Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 19(2), 171-182.

The welfare of nonhuman animals in captivity is widely dependent on the natural psychological, physical, and behavioral needs of the animals and how adequately these needs are met. Inability to engage in natural behaviors can...

Herrington, J. A., Del Rosso, L. A., Capitanio, J. P. 2016. Biobehavioral consequences of prenatal exposure to a matrilineal overthrow and relocation in captive infant rhesus (Macaca mulatta) monkeys. American Journal of Primatology 78(9), 895-903.

There is a general consensus that perinatal experiences help to shape infant behavior; however, relatively little is known about the effects of prenatal experience on postnatal phenotype in non‐human primates. The current study sought to...

Brand, C. M., Boose, K. J., Squires, E. C. et al. 2016. Hair plucking, stress, and urinary cortisol among captive bonobos (Pan paniscus). Zoo Biology 35(5), 415-422.

Hair plucking has been observed in many captive primate species, including the great apes; however, the etiology of this behavioral pattern is poorly understood. While this behavior has not been reported in wild apes, an...

Joshi, S., Pillay, N. 2016. Personality predicts the responses to environmental enrichment at the group but not within-groups in stereotypic African striped mice, Rhabdomys dilectus. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 182, 44-52.

Environmental enrichment is used to enhance the well-being of captive animals and to prevent or reduce stereotypic and other abnormal behaviours. However, environmental enrichment does not always succeed in its intended purpose. We investigated whether...

Koch, L., Svendsen, S. 2016. Back to Nature! Rehabilitating Danish Research Monkeys. In: Animal Housing and Human-Animal Relations: Politics, Practices and Infrastructures. Edited by K. Bjørkdahl and T. Druglitrø. Routlege: Abingdon, Oxon. Chapter 5 p. 67-81.

This chapter traces the integration of macaques as experimental organisms for polio in Norway during the 1960s and 1970s. Investigating the integration of macaque monkeys helps to craft an understanding of how political and scientific...

Franchi, V., Aleuy, O. A., Tadich, T. A. 2016. Fur chewing and other abnormal repetitive behaviors in chinchillas (Chinchilla lanigera), under commercial fur-farming conditions. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 11, 60-64.

Fur chewing is a behavioral disorder frequently reported in chinchillas kept for fur-farming purposes. Rodents kept in barren cages usually develop some form of abnormal repetitive behavior, which can indicate a past or present welfare...

Winnicker, C., Gaskill, B., Garner, J. P. et al. 2016. A Guide to the Behavior & Enrichment of Laboratory Rodents. Charles River Laboratories.

Covering species-typical behavior as well as abnormal/malfunctional behavior and stereotypes observed in mice, rats, hamsters and gerbils, this is an excellent resource for those looking to implement or enhance an existing behavioral husbandry and enrichment...

Leeds, A., Elsner, R., Lukas, K. 2016. The effect of positive reinforcement training on an adult female western lowland gorilla’s (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) rate of abnormal and aggressive behavior. Animal Behavior and Cognition 3(2), 78–87.

Positive reinforcement training (PRT) has become a widely used tool in improving the ease with which husbandry and veterinary procedures are performed for animals under human care. PRT provides positive social interaction, cognitive stimulation, and...

Gottlieb D. H., Maier, A., Coleman, K. 2015. Evaluation of environmental and intrinsic factors that contribute to stereotypic behavior in captive rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 171,184-91.

Full body repetitive behaviors, known as motor stereotypic behaviors (MSBs), are one of the most commonly seen abnormal behaviors in captive non-human primates, and are frequently used as a behavioral measure of well-being. The main...

Pearson, B. L., Reeder, D. M., Judge, P. G. 2015. Crowding increases salivary cortisol but not self-directed behavior in captive baboons. American Journal of Primatology 77, 462-67.

Reduced space can lead to crowding in social animals. Crowding increases the risk of agonistic interactions that, in turn, may require additional physiological defensive coping mechanisms affecting health. To determine the stress induced from increased...

Harper, L., Choleris, E., Ervin, K. et al. 2015. Stereotypic mice are aggressed by their cage-mates and tend to be poor demonstrators in social learning tasks. Animal Welfare. 24(4), 463-473.

Stereotypic behaviours (SBs) are linked with behavioural inflexibility and resemble symptoms of autism, suggesting that stereotypic animals could have autistic-like social impairments. SBs are also common in caged mice. We therefore hypothesised relationships between stereotypic...

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...

Novak, M., Hamel, A., Coleman, K. et al. 2014. Hair loss and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis activity in captive rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). JAALAS 53(3), 261-266.

Hair loss is a common problem in captive macaque colonies. A potential factor is the possible influence of stressful environments in the development of hair loss. We examined the relationship between hair loss and chronic...

Meade, T. M., Hutchinson, E., Krall, C. et al. 2014. Use of an aquarium as a novel enrichment item for singly housed rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). JAALAS 53(5), 472-477.

Locomotor stereotypies are behaviors often seen in singly housed rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) and are considered to represent a maladaptive response to captive environments. Active and passive enrichment items are commonly used to mitigate these...

Lutz, C. K., Williams, P. C., Sharp, R. M. 2014. Abnormal behavior and associated risk factors in captive baboons (Papio hamadryas spp.). American Journal of Primatology 76(4), 355-361.

Abnormal behavior, ranging from motor stereotypies to self‐injurious behavior, has been documented in captive nonhuman primates, with risk factors including nursery rearing, single housing, and veterinary procedures. Much of this research has focused on macaque...

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...

Kroeker, R., Bellanca, R. U., Lee, G. H. et al. 2014. Alopecia in three macaque species housed in a laboratory environment. American Journal of Primatology 76(4), 325-334.

Alopecia is a persistent problem in captive macaque populations and despite recent interest, no factors have been identified that can unequivocally explain the presence of alopecia in a majority of cases. Seasonal, demographic, and environmental...

Gottlieb, D. H., O'Connor, J. R., Coleman, K. 2014. Using porches to decrease feces painting in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). JAALAS 53(6), 653-656.

The goal of this project was to evaluate the efficacy of a porch in decreasing feces painting in captive rhesus macaques. The porch is a small extension that is hung on the outside of a...