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. 
Buijs, S., Hermans, K., Maertens, L. et al. 2014. Effects of semi-group housing and floor type on pododermatitis, spinal deformation, and bone quality in rabbit does. Animal 8(10), 1728-1734.

The most common housing system for reproduction rabbits, individual cage housing on a wire floor, is increasingly scrutinized because of its potential detrimental impact on animal welfare. We compared three types of housing: (1) individual...

Murphy, S., Fortner, J., Adusumilli, S. 2014. A comparison of soiled bedding densities and stress in sentinel mice. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 609. (Abstract #P225).

Sentinel animals are used to monitor the health status of rodents used in research. It is important to screen for potentially pathogenic viruses, parasites, and bacterial organisms to detect and rapidly respond to unwanted pathogens...

Vilminot, N. M., Patterson, K. A., Cooper, D. M. et al. 2014. Pharmacokinetics and excreta recovery of [14C]Erioglaucine to determine the impact of solid-bottom compared with wire-bottom caging in Sprague-Dawley rats. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 597 (Abstract #P183).

The Guide recommends the use of solid-bottom caging rather than wire-bottom caging in rodents for many reasons, including reduction in environmental stress, allowance for species-typical behaviors, and decreasing the incidence of pododermatitis and other types...

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...

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...

Wren, M. A., Dauchy, R. T., Hill, S. M. et al. 2013. Colored enrichment devices influence behavior and circadian metabolism and physiology in Sprague-Dawley rats. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 608 (Abstract #PS2).

Enrichment devices and strategies, as currently endorsed by the Guide, are used to improve laboratory animal health and wellbeing. Many conclusions supporting this premise, however, are based primarily on observational studies with minimal consideration for...

Stewart, K. L., Guilfoyle, D., Preisser, W. 2013. Increased cage height does not impact the wellbeing of rabbits. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 665 (Abstract #P159).

In the eighth edition of the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, the recommended rabbit cage height was changed from 14 to 16 in. In contrast, the majority of our rabbit cages...

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...

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...

Cruden, J. 2013. Can regular access to floor pens affect caged rabbit behavior? American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 615-616 (Abstract #PS43).

The main objective of the program of research, of which this study is part, is to evaluate the housing and environmental enrichment for laboratory rabbits. The aim is to determine whether modifications to basic housing...

Baumans, V., Bennett, K., Donnelly, M. et al. 2013. The problem with the dark bottom-row cage for non-human primates: A discussion by the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum. Animal Technology and Welfare 12, 111-114.

Since there is evidence that the bottom cages can impact research, this should be a good reason to eliminate the two-tier system with its species-inappropriate bottom-tier cages.

Abelson, K. S. P., Jacobsen, K. R., Sundbom, R. et al. 2012. Voluntary ingestion of nut paste for administration of buprenorphine in rats and mice. Laboratory Animals 46(4), 349-351.

An adequate analgesic strategy is important to improve the postoperative recovery and welfare of laboratory rats and mice. It is desirable that the method for administering the drug is non-invasive and stress-free. We have previously...

Walters, S. L., Torres-Urbano, C. J., Chichester, L. et al. 2012. The impact of huts on physiological stress: A refinement in post-transport housing of male guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus). Laboratory Animals 46(3), 220-224.

The ideal animal model would contribute no confounding variables in experimental science. Variables affect experimental design resulting in increased animal use or repeated studies. We demonstrated a simple refinement which may reduce the number of...

Merriman, D. K., Lahvis, G., Jooss, M. et al. 2012. Current practices in a captive breeding colony of 13-lined ground squirrels (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus). Lab Animal 41(11), 315-325.

The authors provide an update to their 2006 report on the successful large-scale captive breeding of the 13-lined ground squirrel (TLGS; Ictidomys tridecemlineatus) in their colony, now a single-source supplier of purpose-bred TLGSs for several...

Corbett, A., McGowin, A., Sieber, S. et al. 2012. A method for reliable voluntary oral administration of a fixed dosage (mg/kg) of chronic daily medication to rats. Laboratory Animals 46(4), 318-324.

Stress can influence a number of physiological processes including adult neurogenesis, metabolism, cardiovascular function, immune function, neurophysiological function, endocrine function and inflammatory processes following injury. In testing drugs which may be used to treat various...

Blyth, L. 2012. A safe, gentle and effective method of oral dosing guinea-pigs. Animal Technology and Welfare 11, 187-188.

Guinea pigs are difficult to oral gavage dose. Previous adverse effects from this dosing method, using rigid catheters, had caused an earlier endpoint to studies and loss of data. We therefore developed a prototype gag...

Ali, A., Dua, Y., Constance, J. E. et al. 2012. A once-per-day, drug-in-food protocol for prolonged administration of antiepileptic drugs in animal models. Epilepsia 53(1), 199-206.

Purpose: Convenient and effective methods for administering potential antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) chronically should facilitate many experiments in animal models of chronic epilepsy with spontaneous recurrent seizures. This proof-of-principle study aimed to optimize a once-per-day, drug-in-food...

Witt, S. L., Plews, C. A., Ruppert, G. et al. 2011. Nylon cylinder: Safe and cost-effective chewable rat enrichment. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 782 (Abstract #P174).

Offering enrichment to stimulate chewing behavior in rats has been found to promote psychologic and physiologic wellbeing. While there are many commercially produced nylon products available for use as chewable enrichment, these items are costly...

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...

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...

Neubauer, T., Buckmaster, C. 2011. Decline in aggression in cotton rats through enrichment. Tech Talk [The Newsletter for Laboratory Animal Science Technicians] 16(4), 2-3.

The tubes provide shelter and nesting material to the rats, allowing them to exhibit species-specific behaviors. The change in the animals' behavior has been overwhelming. The rats are much less aggressive; in one year, fight...

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...