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. 
Whittaker, A. L., Barker, T. H. 2020. The impact of common recovery blood sampling methods, in mice (Mus musculus), on well-being and sample quality: A systematic review. Animals 10(6), 989.

Blood sampling is often performed in laboratory mice. Sampling techniques have the potential to cause pain, distress and impact on lifetime cumulative experience. In spite of institutions commonly providing guidance to researchers on these methods...

Ballantine, A., Rodgers, D., Watts, C. et al. 2020. The cotton rat – a new challenge. Animal Technology and Welfare 19(1), 92-95.

This poster describes how the Animal Technologists at Envigo adapted their current practices and procedures for a new species at their laboratory: the cotton rat. The paper describes cotton rat biology and behaviour; housing; environmental...

Okabe, S., Takayanagi, Y., Yoshida, M. et al. 2020. Gentle stroking stimuli induce affiliative responsiveness to humans in male rats. Scientific Reports 10, 9135.

Gentle tactile stimuli have been shown to play an important role in the establishment and maintenance of affiliative social interactions. Oxytocin has also been shown to have similar actions. We investigated the effects of gentle...

Reinhardt, V. (ed.) 2020. It’s Okay to Cry - Discussions by the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum [LAREF], Volume V. Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, DC.

This is the 5th volume of selected discussions that took place on the electronic Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum between February 2016 and December 2019. The forum was created in October 2002; it allows...

Meyer, N., Kröger, M., Thümmler, J. et al. 2020. Impact of three commonly used blood sampling techniques on the welfare of laboratory mice: Taking the animal’s perspective. PLOS ONE 15(9), e0238895.

Laboratory mice are the most frequently used animals in biomedical research. In accordance with guidelines for humane handling, several blood sampling techniques have been established. While the effects of these procedures on blood quality and...

Wirth, S., Gebhardt-Henrich, S. G., Riemer, S. et al. 2020. The influence of human interaction on guinea pigs: Behavioral and thermographic changes during animal-assisted therapy. Physiology & Behavior 225, 113076.

Guinea pigs are often involved in animal-assisted therapy (AAT) but there is little knowledge about the effects of human contact on guinea pigs involved in AAT. The aim of this study was to investigate effects...

LaFollette, M. R., Cloutier, S., Brady, C. M. et al. 2020. Changing human behavior to improve animal welfare: A longitudinal investigation of training laboratory animal personnel about heterospecific play or “rat tickling”. Animals 10(8), 1435.

Despite evidence for rat tickling’s animal welfare benefits, the technique is rarely implemented in part because of a lack of training. This study’s purpose was to determine the efficacy of online-only or online + hands-on...

McMahon, S. A., Wigham, E. 2020. ‘All Ears’: A questionnaire of 1516 owner perceptions of the mental abilities of pet rabbits, subsequent resource provision, and the effect on welfare. Animals 10(10), 1730.

Pet rabbit welfare is a hidden crisis: Inappropriately housed, fed, and not routinely provided healthcare—rabbits can often suffer painful conditions and shortened lifespans. This study provides novel understanding of owners’ perceptions of rabbits’ mental capabilities...

Rault, J.-L., Waiblinger, S., Boivin, X. et al. 2020. The power of a positive human–animal relationship for animal welfare. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 7, 590867.

Domestic animals often seek and enjoy interacting with humans. Positive human–animal relationships can elicit positive emotions and other positive welfare outcomes. Nevertheless, our understanding of the underlying processes that govern the positive perception of humans...

Abela, C. 2020. Alternative training method using a mouse simulator in intravenous lateral tail vein procedures. Animal Technology and Welfare 19(3), 249-250.

The purpose of this study was to reduce or replace mouse cadavers for use in procedural training. All participants had mixed experience in various technical procedures such as oral gavage, intraperitoneal injections, etc., but none...

Gjendal, K., Kiersgaard, M. K., Abelson, K. et al. 2020. Comparison of sublingual, facial and retro-bulbar blood sampling in mice in relation to animal welfare and blood quality. Journal of Pharmacological and Toxicological Methods 103, 106680.

Introduction: Repeated blood sampling is a common procedure in laboratory mice, but at present it is unknown which technique has the least impact on the animals when large or repeated blood samples are required. Retro-bulbar...

Stevens, C., Hawkins, P., Lovell-Badge, R. et al. 2019. Report of the 2018 RSPCA/UFAW Rodent and Rabbit Welfare Group meeting. Animal Technology and Welfare 18(2), 81-91.

The RSPCA/UFAW Rodent (and now Rabbit) Working Group has held a one-day meeting every autumn for the last 25 years, so that its members can discuss current welfare research, exchange views on welfare issues and...

Sørensen, D. B., Metzdorff, S. B., Jensen, L. K. et al. 2019. Time-dependent pathologic and inflammatory consequences of various blood sampling techniques in mice. JAALAS 58(3), 362-372.

We compared 6 frequently used mouse blood-sampling methods (lateral tail incision; tail-tip amputation; sublingual, submandibular, and saphenous vein puncture; and retrobulbar sinus puncture during isoflurane anesthesia) with regard to induction of local and systemic inflammation...

Windsor, Z., Bate, S. T. 2019. Assessing the safety and suitability of nesting material for singly housed mice with surgically fitted head plates. Heliyon 5(7), e02097.

Nesting material, for example shredded paper, is a common form of enrichment for laboratory mice. However, there has been limited research performed regarding its apparent safety when given to mice fitted with exteriorised devices such...

LaFollette, M. R., Cloutier, S., Brady, C. et al. 2019. Laboratory animal welfare and human attitudes: A cross-sectional survey on heterospecific play or “rat tickling”. PLOS ONE 14(8), e0220580.

Laboratory rat welfare is critically influenced by laboratory animal personnel through their implementation, or lack of implementation, of various enrichment techniques. One such promising technique is heterospecific play, or “rat tickling”, which mimics aspects of...

Kaye, N. 2019. A technologist-led approach to altering the culture of care regarding blood sampling. Animal Technology and Welfare 18(3), 213-216.

This poster will describe the implementation by Animal Technologists and Named Persons of a well published refined bleeding technique. Establishing The Francis Crick Institute from legacy institutes required a standardised approach for many techniques, including...

Mazhary, H., Hawkins, P. 2019. Applying the 3Rs: A case study on evidence and perceptions relating to rat cage height in the UK. Animals 9(12), 1104.

This article investigates the barriers to implementing higher caging in animal research establishments in the UK. The use of animals in research and testing in the UK is regulated by the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act...

Skinner, M., Ceuppens, P., White, P. et al. 2019. Social-housing and use of double-decker cages in rat telemetry studies. Journal of Pharmacological and Toxicological Methods 96, 87-94.

Rat telemetry is widely used for biomedical research purposes and is used routinely in early pre-clinical drug development to screen for the potential cardiovascular risk of candidate drugs. Historically, these studies have been conducted in...

Harikrishnan, V. S., Hansen, A. K., Abelson, K. S. P. et al. 2018. A comparison of various methods of blood sampling in mice and rats: Effects on animal welfare. Laboratory Animals 52(3), 253-264.

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of blood sampling on animal welfare in a total of 60 NTac:SD rats and 72 C57BL/6NTac mice of both sexes. Blood was sampled either by sublingual vein...

Frohlich, J. R., Alarcón, C. N., Toarmino, C. R. et al. 2018. Comparison of serial blood collection by facial vein and retrobulbar methods in C57BL/6 mice. JAALAS 57(4), 382-391.

Many biomedical research protocols for mouse models involve serial blood collection and analysis. Two common techniques for serial blood collection in this species are the retrobulbar (RB, also called retroorbital) and facial vein (FV) methods...

Hoffman, J. F., Fan, A. X., Neuendorf, E. H. et al. 2018. Hydrophobic sand versus metabolic cages: A comparison of urine collection methods for rats (Rattus norvegicus). JAALAS 57(1), 51-57.

A common method for urine collection from rats requires the use of a metabolic cage, thus exposing animals to extended periods of isolation in an unfamiliar cage with a wire-mesh floor. A new method involving...

LaFollette, M. R., O’Haire, M. E., Cloutier, S. et al. 2018. A happier rat pack: The impacts of tickling pet store rats on human-animal interactions and rat welfare. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 203, 92-102.

Rats find initial interactions with humans frightening, which can lead to negative affect, and poor welfare. A handling technique called “tickling”, which mimics rat rough-and-tumble play, can be used to reduce these negative effects. When...

LaFollette, M. R., O’Haire, M. E., Cloutier, S. et al. 2018. Practical rat tickling: Determining an efficient and effective dosage of heterospecific play. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 208, 82-91.

Laboratory rats may experience stress during handling which can reduce their welfare. Rat tickling, a handling technique that mimics aspects of rat rough-and-tumble play, has been found to induce positive affect based on production of...

Neely, C., Lane, C., Torres, J. et al. 2018. The effect of gentle handling on depressive-like behavior in adult male mice: Considerations for human and rodent interactions in the laboratory. Behavioural Neurology 2018, 2976014.

Environmental factors play a significant role in well-being of laboratory animals. Regulations and guidelines recommend, if not require, that stressors such as bright lighting, smells, and noises are eliminated or reduced to maximize animal well-being...

Taylor, R. M., Miller, P. R., Ebrahimi, P. et al. 2018. Minimally-invasive, microneedle-array extraction of interstitial fluid for comprehensive biomedical applications: Transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, exosome research, and biomarker identification. Laboratory Animals 52(5), 526–530.

Interstitial fluid (ISF) has recently garnered interest as a biological fluid that could be used as an alternate to blood for biomedical applications, diagnosis, and therapy. ISF extraction techniques are promising because they are less...