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. 
Kang, S. C., Jampachaisri, K., Seymour, T. L. et al. 2017. Use of liposomal bupivacaine for postoperative analgesia in an incisional pain model in rats (Rattus norvegicus). JAALAS 56(1), 63-68.

The local anesthetic bupivacaine is valuable for perioperative analgesia, but its use in the postoperative period is limited by its short duration of action. Here, we evaluated the application of a slow-release liposomal formulation of...

Simpson, D. 2017. Investigation of transportation on rat acclimatisation using novel cage side recording equipment (Rodent Big Brother). Animal Technology and Welfare 16(1), 1-12.

The transportation of animals from supplier to experimental facility is one of the biggest stressors to animals in research. Transportation unavoidably causes stress and when the animals arrive at the testing facility they require a...

Ferguson, R. 3Rs improvements in the Bexsero® (Meningitis B) vaccine. Animal Technology and Welfare 16(2), 150-152.

Bexsero® is a new vaccine in the UK which since September 2015 has been added to the childhood immunisation programme for the prevention of Meningitis B. The in-vivo test as performed in Biological Services Division...

Lopes, V. M., Sampaio, E., Roumbedakis, K. et al. 2017. Cephalopod biology and care, a COST FA1301 (CephsInAction) training school: Anaesthesia and scientific procedures. Invertebrate Neuroscience 17, 8.

Cephalopods are the sole invertebrates included in the list of regulated species following the Directive 2010/63/EU. According to the Directive, achieving competence through adequate training is a requisite for people having a role in the...

Stevens, C. H., Croft, D. P., Paull, G. C. et al. 2017. Stress and welfare in ornamental fishes: What can be learned from aquaculture? Journal of Fish Biology 91(2), 409-428.

The ornamental fish trade is estimated to handle up to 1.5 billion fishes. Transportation and handling of fishes imposes a range of stressors that can result in mortality at rates of up to 73%. Given...

Jolles, J. W., Aaron-Taylor, B., Manica, A. 2016. Recent social conditions affect boldness repeatability in individual sticklebacks. Animal Behaviour 112, 139-145.

Animal personalities are ubiquitous across the animal kingdom and have been shown both to influence individual behaviour in the social context and to be affected by it. However, little attention has been paid to possible...

Jeger, V., Hauffe, T., Nicholls-Vuille, F. et al. 2016. Analgesia in clinically relevant rodent models of sepsis. Laboratory Animals 50(6), 418-426.

Postoperative analgesia in rodent sepsis models has been considerably neglected in the past. However, intentions to model clinical practice, increasing awareness of animal ethics, efforts to apply the 3Rs (replacement, reduction, refinement), and stricter legislation...

Blankenship-Paris, T. L., Dutton, J. W., Goulding, D. R. et al. 2016. Evaluation of buprenorphine hydrochloride Pluronic® gel formulation in male C57BL/6NCrl mice. Lab Animal 45(10), 370-379.

Providing adequate analgesia while minimizing handling and stress post-surgery can be challenging. Recently, there have been commercial products made available for providing long acting analgesia in rodents. However, we find there are limitations for use...

Kendall, L. V., Wegenast, D. J., Smith, B. J. et al. 2016. Efficacy of sustained-release buprenorphine in an experimental laparotomy model in female mice. JAALAS 55(1), 66–73.

Mice purportedly require dosing with the opioid buprenorphine (Bup-HCl) at least every 8 to 12 h to maintain an adequate plane of analgesia. Here we used an experimental laparotomy model to determine the clinical efficacy...

Taylor, B. F., Ramirez, H. E., Battles, A. H. et al. 2016. Analgesic activity of tramadol and buprenorphine after voluntary ingestion by rats (Rattus norvegicus). JAALAS, 55(1), 74–82.

Effective pain management for rats and mice is crucial due to the continuing increase in the use of these species in biomedical research. Here we used a recently validated operant orofacial pain assay to determine...

Shientag, L. J. 2016. Efficacy of common analgesics for postsurgical pain in rats. JAALAS 55(1), 7.

I have some comments about the use of ketoprofen for analgesia in rats discussed in the recent JAALASarticle by Waite and colleagues.3 One of the conclusions reached by the authors was that, for postsurgical pain...

Sauer, M., Fleischmann, T., Lipiski, M. et al. 2016. Buprenorphine via drinking water and combined oral-injection protocols for pain relief in mice. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 185, 103-112.

Buprenorphine is the opioid analgesic most commonly used in laboratory mice. However, to maintain therapeutically effective serum levels, repeated injections are required. To overcome negative aspects of restraint and injection, oral self-administration is a promising...

Herndon, N. L., Bandyopadhyay, S., Hod, E. A. et al. 2016. Sustained-release buprenorphine improves postsurgical clinical condition but does not alter survival or cytokine levels in a murine model of polymicrobial sepsis. Comparative Medicine 66(6), 455–462.

Cecal ligation and perforation (CLP) is a common technique for studying sepsis in mice. Because of the invasiveness of the procedure and its effects on clinical condition, many animal care and use committees require the...

Miller, A., Kitson, G., Skalkoyannis, B. et al. 2015. The effect of isoflurane anaesthesia and buprenorphine on the mouse grimace scale and behaviour in CBA and DBA/2 mice. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 172, 58-62.

Prevention or alleviation of pain in laboratory mice is a fundamental requirement of in vivoresearch. The mouse grimace scale (MGS) has the potential to be an effective and rapid means of assessing pain and analgesic...

Miller, A. L., Leach, M. C. 2015. Using the mouse grimace scale to assess pain associated with routine ear notching and the effect of analgesia in laboratory mice. Laboratory Animals 49(2), 117-120.

Social housing is recommended where possible for laboratory mice. In order to achieve this, mice must be individually identifiable. Although, various methods are available, permanent identification is often required, such as ear notching. This method...

Cesarovic, N., Arras, M., Jirkof, P. 2014. Impact of inhalation anaesthesia, surgery and analgesic treatment on home cage behaviour in laboratory mice. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 157, 137-145.

Anaesthesia and analgesia are used frequently in laboratory routine to ensure animal welfare and good scientific outcomes in experiments that may elicit pain or require immobilisation of the animal. However, there is concern regarding the...

Gruen, M. E., Thomson, A. E., Clary, G. P. et al. 2013. Conditionining laboratory cats to handling and transport. Lab Animal 42(10), 385-389.

As research subjects, cats have contributed substantially to our understanding of biological systems, from the development of mammalian visual pathways to the pathophysiology of feline immunodeficiency virus as a model for human immunodeficiency virus. Few...

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...

Coleman, K. 2012. Individual differences in temperament and behavioral management practices for nonhuman primates. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 137(3-4), 106-113.

This review will examine how individual differences in temperament might affect, or be affected by, behavioral management practices for captive primates. Measuring temperament may help us predict the outcome of social introductions. It can also...

Reinhardt, V. 2011. Home for Life - Sanctuaries for Abandoned Pets. Viktor Reinhardt, Mt. Shasta.

This book focuses primarily on human kindness and compassion rather than on human cruelty, callousness, indifference, and egocentric endeavors. It is common knowledge that many lay people and professional researchers treat animals in their charge...

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...

Branson, E. J. (Ed.) 2008. Fish Welfare. Blackwell Publishing Ltd: Oxford, UK, 300 p.

Fish have the same stress response and powers of nociception as mammals. Their behavioural responses to a variety of situations suggest a considerable ability for higher level neural processing – a level of consciousness equivalent...

Ball, R. S. 2006. Issues to consider for preparing ferrets as research subjects in the laboratory. ILAR Journal 47(4), 348-357.

Successful housing requires knowledge of ferret behaviors including social behavior, eating habits, a general inquisitive nature, and a species-typical need to burrow and hide. Regular handling is necessary to maintain well-being. A ferret health care...

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...

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.