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. 
De Villiers, C., Seal, J. V. 2010. Solid floors versus wire floor housing for rats revisited: Influence of age and the presence of test boxes. Animal Technology and Welfare 9, 31-36.

Data did not reveal a clear preference for solid floors. Juveniles were found most often on wire floors while among adults, a preference for solid floors was apparent only in females, and only when a...

Cloutier, S., Newberry, R. C. 2010. Physiological and behavioural responses of laboratory rats housed at different tier levels and levels of visual contact with conspecifics and humans. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 125(1-2), 69-79.

Laboratory rats are typically housed in clear or opaque cages on multi-tiered racks. Clear-walled cages allow a view of the room and facilitate visual social contact with neighbouring rats but may induce anxiety due to...

Zahorsky-Reeves, J., Castellani, L. W. 2010. Housing mice on corncob bedding verus hardwood chip may confound research models. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 655 (Abstract #PS2).

The result demonstrates that bedding material, a variable not often considered in research, could have profound influence on the data for many studies of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, or metabolism.

Krohn, T. C., Hansen, A. K. 2010. Mice prefer draught-free housing. Laboratory Animals 44(4), 370-372.

An increasing number of rodents are housed in individually ventilated cage (IVC) systems, as these seem to be very effective for the protection of animals against infections, as well as protecting the staff against allergens...

Skoumbourdis, E., Coke Murphy, C. 2009. Studies and snack bites. Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) Quarterly 58(1) Winter, 12-13.

Veterinary technician Evelyn Skoumbourdis and environmental enrichment coordinator Casey Coke Murphy discuss proper feeding of small laboratory mammals.

Gaskill, B. N., Rohr, S. A., Pajor, E. A. et al. 2009. Some like it hot: Mouse temperature preferences in laboratory housing. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 116(2-4), 279-285.

In standard laboratory environments mice are housed at 20-24 °C. However, their thermoneutral zone ranges between 26 °C and 34 °C. This challenge to homeostasis is by definition stressful, and could therefore affect many aspects...

Castelhano-Carlos, M. J., Baumans , V. 2009. The impact of light, noise, cage cleaning and in-house transport on welfare and stress of laboratory rats. Laboratory Animals 43(4), 311-327.

Human interaction and physical environmental factors are part of the stimuli presented to laboratory animals everyday, influencing their behaviour and physiology and contributing to their welfare. Certain environmental conditions and routine procedures in the animal...

Kasanen, I. H. E., Inhilä, K. J., Nevalainen, J. I. et al. 2009. A novel dietary restriction method for group-housed rats: Weight gain and clinical chemistry characterization. Laboratory Animals 43, 138-148.

Laboratory rodents are usually fed ad libitum. Moderate dietary restriction decreases mortality and morbidity compared with ad libitum feeding. There are, however, problems in achieving dietary restriction. Traditional methods of restricted feeding may interfere with...

Reed, B., Hawkins, P., Latham, N. et al. 2008. Report of the 2006 RSPCA/UFAW Rodent Welfare Group meeting. Lab Animal 37(5), 216-222.

The RSPCA/UFAW Rodent Welfare Group holds a one-day meeting every autumn to discuss current welfare research and to exchange views on rodent welfare issues. A key aim of the group is to encourage people to...

Hawkins, P., Hubrecht, R., Buckwell, A. et al. 2008. Refining Rabbit Care: A Resource for Those Working With Rabbits in Research. UFAW/RSPCA: Southwater, UK, 27 pp.

The report sets out how to provide: optimal enclosure characteristicsand size; social housing; solid flooring and substrate; raised areas; refuges; gnawing objects and dietary enrichment; positive interaction with humans; toys and objects to manipulate; for...

Onbasilar, E. E., Onbasilar, Í. 2007. Effect of cage density and sex on growth, food utilization and some stress parameters of young rabbits. Scandinavian Journal of Laboratory Animal Science 34(3),189-195.

The aim of the experiment was to study the effects of cage density (1, 3 and 5 rabbits per cage) and sex (male and female) on stress parameters of young rabbits. A total of 90...

Barley, J., Mikkelsen, L. F., Francis, R. et al. 2007. Enforced restraint of rodents: A discussion by the Refinement & Enrichment Forum. Animal Technology and Welfare 6(1), 11-13.

The question was asked: "Rodents are often restrained for data collection procedures, such as blood collection and injection, by coaxing them into tubes, for example syringe cylinders or perspex tubes. What can be done to...

Gonder, J. C., Laber, K. 2007. A renewed look at laboratory rodent housing and management. ILAR Journal 48(1), 29-46.

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...

Animal Research Review Panel. 2006. Animal Research Review Panel Guideline 21: Guidelines for the Housing of Guinea Pigs in Scientific Institutions. New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Orange, NSW, 55 pp.

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).

Meijer, M. K., Spruijt, B. M., van Zutphen, L. F. M. et al. 2006. Effect of restraint and injection methods on heart rate and body temperature in mice. Laboratory Animals 40(4), 82-391.

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...

Conour, L. A., Murray, K. A., Brown, M. J. 2006. Preparation of animals for research -- Issues to consider for rodents and rabbits. ILAR Journal 47(4), 283-293.

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...

Smith, A. L., Mabus, S. L., Muir, C. et al. 2005. Effects of housing density and cage floor space on three strains of young adult inbred mice. Comparative Medicine 55(4), 368-376.

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...

Burn, C., Mason, G. 2005. Long-term effects of cage-cleaning frequency and bedding type on laboratory rat welfare: A cross-laboratory study. Animal Technology and Welfare 4, 80-82.

Cage-cleaning frequency does not have a clear effect on welfare in male rats.

Bayne, K. 2005. Potential for unintended consequences of environmental enrihment for laboratory animals and research results. ILAR Journal 46(2), 129-139.

Many aspects of the research animal's housing environment are controlled for quality and/or standardization. Of recent interest is the potential for environmental enrichment to have unexpected consequences such as unintended harm to the animal, or...

Barley, J. B., Cherry, K. A., Garner, J. et al. 2004. Water leakage in rodent cages: A discussion by the Laboratory Animal Refinement and Enrichment Forum. Animal Technology and Welfare 3, 111-114.

It is not uncommon that malfunctioning in watering valves or leaks of water bottles result in the accumulation of water in rodent cages (especially during holidays and on weekends), a circumstance that can have serious...

Sharp, J. L., Zammit, T., Azar, T. A. et al. 2003. Stress-like responses to common procedures in individually and group-housed female rats. Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science 42(1), 9-18.

Mean resting HR values in the mornings prior to human contact were significantly (P

Sharp, J. L., Zammit, T., Azar, T. A. et al. 2003. Are "by-stander" female Sprague-Dawley rats affected by experimental procedures? Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science 42(1), 19-28.

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...

Patterson-Kane, E. G. 2003. Shelter enrichment for rats. Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science 42(2), 46-48.

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...

Raje, S. S., Stewart, K. L. 2000. Group housing female guinea pigs. Lab Animal 29(8), 31-32.

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...

Fullwood, S., Hicks, T. A., Brown, J. C. et al. 1998. Floor space needs for laboratory mice: C57BL/6 males in solid-bottom cages with bedding. ILAR Journal 39(1), 29-36.

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...