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. 

In this experiment, 64 pairs of animals of the strain C57BL/6J were used. Half of the animals were born and reared until weaning in standard cages and the other half in cages twice the size...

Results of this study suggest that the welfare of kennelled cats is greatly improved if they are provided with the opportunity to perform effective hiding behavior, and that the ability to perform such a behaviour...

This book covers the major issues affecting the welfare of domestic cats. It covers recent developments in our understanding of cat behaviour, considers the ways in which cat welfare is assessed, and addresses the successes...

In this article, recent publications are examined to determine the potential impact of new scientific evidence on current practices for the housing and care of laboratory rodents. The discussion points out recent advances in technology...

I conclude from our discussion that commercial prefabricated dwellings for mice are useful only if they are made of GLP-accepted material that the animals can readily gnaw and convert into nesting and bedding material. Since...

Valuable recommendations for the species-adequate housing and species-approriate care of guinea pigs; topics include Housing (enclosure size, substrate, shelter, nesting material), Environmental Enrichment, and Husbandry (light, temperature, humidity, cleaning).

It was found that heart rate (HR), and to a lesser extent also body temperature (BT), parallels plasma corticosterone (pCORT) values after subjecting the animals to different methods of restraint. Secondly, the acute stress response...

The aim of the study was to investigate effects of widely recommended nesting material and additional shelters on male mice. The aggressiveness of the mice in their home cages clearly increased in the nest group,as...

This article provides details to consider when preparing to use animals in biomedical research. The stress of transport and receipt of animals into a new environment mandate the need for a period of stabilization and...

Some recommendations in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (the Guide) are based on best professional judgment. Our current efforts are directed toward replacement with data-driven standards. We demonstrated earlier that...

The objective of this study was to test the hypotheses that female rats are stressed by being in the same room as animals subjected to common husbandry and experimental procedures and that the level of...

Nest boxes are a simple and effective form of environmentalenrichment. Rats accept a wide range of nest-box types but have the strongest...preference for enclosed, opaque, thermoplastic boxes. ...Tubes have proven a relatively ineffective enrichment for...

The prevailing housing and handling conditions of monkeys in research institutions is described. The present situation in primate research laboratories strongly suggests that professional judgment is no guarantee that the inhumane housing and handling conditions...

A survey of 96 primatological articles revealed that cage location of research monkeys is usually not mentioned (98%), in spite of the fact that the environment of upper- and lower-row housed animals markedly differs in...

Group housing [female] guinea pigs can save space and money, while improving housing standards. The authors describe enclosure design, enrichments, and husbandry techniques that facilitate group housing female guinea pigs. No data are included in...

Commercial caging systems for cats are described and recommendations made for cat-appropriate housing. By housing cats in groups and with appropriate enrichments, according to their physical and psychological needs, researchers can decrease the animal's stress...

Different floor space allocations of cages that were barren except bedding were tested in groups of 3 male mice. Space reduction - from 129 to 32 square cm per mouse - had no impact on...

The objective of toxicology and pharmacology studies is to detect change or variation from normal and to interpret the significance of such change, with the intention of assessing risk to man. With non-human primates (NHPs)...

Twenty-six reports provide detailed information of how primates can be trained to voluntarily cooperate - rather than resist - during blood collection, injection, topical drug application, blood pressure measurement, urine collection, and capture.

Practical recommendations to address five basic characteristics of Old World primates in the laboratory setting: a) social disposition, b) semi-arboreal lifestyle, c) complex living environment, d) intelligence, e) sensitivity to distress.

Caretakers should seek knowledge of the natural lifestyles of the primates in their charge, and attempt to reproduce in the captive environment the salient aspects of the natural habitats that are biologically relevant to the...

Cage space requirements for non-human primates in the United States of America are less than those in European countries. Studies in support of the assumption that the US legal minimum cage size provides adequate space...

Eight baboon groups (Papio sp.) were observed for over one hundred scan samples both before and after the provision of structural enrichment. Additions to their home-cage included a galvanized ladder suspended horizontally by chains and...