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. 
Hutchinson, E., Avery, A., Van de Woude, S. 2005. Environmental enrichment for laboratory rodents. ILAR Journal 46(2), 148-161.

In this article, laws and guidelines relating to rodent enrichment are reviewed, the natural behaviors of select rodent species are discussed, and an overview of widely used types of enrichment in laboratory rodent management is...

Reinhardt, V. 2004. Flaws in federal regulations pertaining to the welfare of primates kept in research institutions. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 7(4), 273-276.

Federal welfare regulations for primates kept in research laboratories fail (1) to include recommendations pertaining to the legal requirement of the avoidance of stress and unnecessary discomfort during handling procedures, (2) to specify how the...

Reinhardt, V. 2003. Legal loophole for subminimal floor area for caged macaques. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 6(1), 53-56.

The USDA regulations pertaining to the minimum space requirements of nonhuman primates and the fitting of elevated resting surfaces are contradictory. They implicitly condone the prevailing perch design that allows maximal usage of animal room...

National Research Council. 2003. Guidelines for the Care and Use of Mammals in Neuroscience and Behavioral Research. National Academic Press: Washington, DC, 223 pp.

Expanding on the National Research Council’s Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, this book deals specifically with mammals in neuroscience and behavioral research laboratories. It offers flexible guidelines for the care of...

National Health and Medical Research Council [NHMRC] Animal Welfare Committee. 2003. Policy on the Care and Use of Non-Human Primates for Scientific Purposes. National Health and Medical Research Council: Canberra, Australia.
Richmond, J. 2002. Refinement, reduction, and replacement of animal use for regulatory testing: Future improvements and implementation within the regulatory framework. ILAR Journal 43(Supplement), S63-S68.

Many are critical of how regulatory testing practices have evolved and become established—critical both of the scientific rational and the animal welfare costs. The test of whether we are more enlightened than our predecessors will...

Reinhardt, V. 2002. The attending veterinarian's contract of employment: Curse or blessing for animals in research institutions? Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 5(1), 73-74.

When attending veterinarians are not provided adequate job security by research institutions, there is no guarantee that they are reliable allies of nonhuman animals and implement the provisions set forth in the federal animal welfare...

Festing, M. F. W., Altman, D. G. 2002. Guidelines for the design and statistical analysis of experiments using laboratory animals. ILAR Journal 43(4), 244-258.

If scientists are to have the privilege of being allowed to do painful experiments on animals, they must ensure that their experiments are beyond criticism.

Reinhardt, V., Reinhardt, A. 2001. Legal space requirement stipulations for animals in the laboratory: Are they adequate? Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 4(2), 143-149.

Animals in the laboratory need the legally required "empty space" to meet their basic spatial requirements for postural adjustment, but they also deserve functional structured space for species-typical locomotor behavior and dynamic interaction with their...

Schnell, C. R., Gerber, P. 1997. Training and remote monitoring of cardiovascular parameters in non-human primates. Primate Report 49, 61-70.

The use of "pre-invasive" implantable radio telemetry has revolutionized the collection of physiological data under stress-free conditions. It is now possible to measure accurately 'normal' baseline data of haemodynamic and electrical parameters in conscious and...

Reinhardt, V. 1997. Training nonhuman primates to cooperate during handling procedures: A review. Animal Technology 48, 55-73.

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.

National Research Council. 1996. Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, 7th Edition. National Academy Press: Washington, DC, 140 pp.

General guidelines for the housing, handling and behavioral management of laboratory animals, including nonhuman primates. Proper care, use, and humane treatment of animals used in research, testing, and education .. require scientific and professional judgment...

Reinhardt, V., Liss, C., Stevens, C. 1995. Restraint methods of laboratory non-human primates: A critical review. Animal Welfare 4(3), 221-238 .

Published information provides scientific evidence that traditional, involuntary restraint techniques of research non-human primates are intrinsically a source of distress resulting from fear. It has been documented that common methods of enforced restraint result in...

Reinhardt, V. 1994. Traditional handling procedures of laboratory nonhuman primates are an intrinsic source of distress: What can be done? In Touch 1(4), 1 & 6-7.

With some professional expertise and goodwill, there should be no real need to resort to forceful restraint when doing research with nonhuman primates.

Luttrell, L., Acker, L., Urben, M. et al. 1994. Training a large troop of rhesus macaques to co-operate during catching: Analysis of the time investment. Animal Welfare 3(2), 135-140.

This study demonstrates that only a minimal time investment was needed to train a large troop of laboratory non-human primates to co-operate in the catching procedure. A group of 45 rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) was...

Reinhardt, V. 1992. Transport-cage training of caged rhesus macaques. Animal Technology 43, 57-61.

A simple training protocol is described which ensures that [most] caged animals readily enter a transport cage.

Reinhardt, V. 1991. Impact of venipuncture on physiological research conducted in conscious macaques. Journal of Experimental Animal Science 34(5-6), 212-217.

A survey of 397 publications dealing with macaques was conducted. Stress-sensitive physiological data collected during venipuncture were evaluated in 58 reports. Despite of the fact that venipuncture often is a stressful event for research animals...

Reinhardt, V., Cowley, D., Scheffler, J. et al. 1990. Cortisol response of female rhesus monkeys to venipuncture in homecage versus venipuncture in restraint apparatus. Journal of Medical Primatology 19, 601-606.

All subjects were well habituated to blood collection, and it was not necessary to immobilize them; they readily presented a leg for venipuncture. In single monkeys venipunctured in the restraint apparatus, cortisol concentrations were on...

Novak, M. A., Suomi, S. J. 1989. Psychological well-being of primates in captivity. ILAR Journal 31(3), 5-15.

Recent amendments to the Animal Welfare Act will, upon taking effect, require that researchers who maintain nonhuman primates in captivity house their animals in such a way as to “promote their psychological well-being.” Unfortunately, no...

National Research Council. 1985. Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, 6th Edition. National Institutes of Health: Bethesda, MD.

Good husbandry minimizes variations that can modify an animal's response to experimentation [p. 11]] ...Lighting should be uniformly diffused throughout animal facilities to provide sufficient illumination to aid in maintaining good houskeeping practices, adequate inspection...

Tardif, S. D., Bales, K., Williams, L. et al. 2006. Preparing New World monkeys for laboratory research. ILAR Journal 47(4), 307-315.

New World monkeys represent an important but often poorly understood research resource. The relatively small size and low zoonotic risk of these animals make them appealing as research subjects in a number of areas. However...