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. 
Franco, N. H., Gerós, A., Oliveira, L. et al. 2019. ThermoLabAnimal – A high-throughput analysis software for non-invasive thermal assessment of laboratory mice. Physiology & Behavior, 207, 113-121.

Body temperature changes in laboratory mice are often assessed by invasive and stressful methods, which may confound the measurement. Infrared thermography is a possible non-invasive alternative, but the cost of standard thermal cameras, lack of...

Edwards, K. L., Miller, M. A., Carlstead, K. et al. 2019. Relationships between housing and management factors and clinical health events in elephants in North American zoos. PLOS ONE 14(6), e0217774.

Elephants experience a number of health issues that can contribute to their well-being and survival. In managed populations, housing conditions and management practices can influence individual health, so potential risk factors associated with morbidity or...

Redaelli, V., Papa, S., Marsella, G. et al. 2019. A refinement approach in a mouse model of rehabilitation research. Analgesia strategy, reduction approach and infrared thermography in spinal cord injury. PLOS ONE 14(10), e0224337.

The principles of Refinement, Replacement and Reduction (3R’s) should be taken into account when animals must be used for scientific purpose. Here, a Reduction / Refinement approach was applied to the procedure of spinal cord...

Rowland, N. E., Toth, L. A. 2019. Analytic and interpretational pitfalls to measuring fecal corticosterone metabolites in laboratory rats and mice. Comparative Medicine 69(5), 337–349.

Minimization and alleviation of stress are generally viewed as desirable aspects of laboratory animal management and use. However, achieving that goal requires an unambiguous and valid measure of stress. Glucocorticoid concentrations are commonly used as...

Gent, T. C., Detotto, C., Vyssotski, A. L. et al. 2018. Epileptiform activity during inert gas euthanasia of mice. PLOS ONE 13(4), e0195872.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the most commonly used euthanasia agents for mice, yet it is highly aversive and nociceptive. Inert gases are a possible alternative, however there are qualitative reports of seizures resulting...

Peric, T., Comin, A., Corazzin, M., et al. 2018. Hair cortisol concentrations in New Zealand white rabbits subjected to surgery. Animal Welfare 27(1), 13-20.

The aim of this study was to assess hair cortisol concentrations in New Zealand white rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) that were subjected to relocation and surgery to evaluate HPA-axis activity; in addition, we used this marker...

Grist, A., Lines, J., Knowles, T. et al. 2018. Use of a non-penetrating captive bolt for euthanasia of neonate goats. Animals 8(4), 58.

A non-penetrating captive bolt device, powered by a 1 grain 0.22″ cartridge delivering a calculated kinetic energy of 47 Joules was tested as a euthanasia method on 200 neonate goats (Capra aegagrus hircus) of mean...

Dudley, E. S., Boivin, G. P. 2018. Evaluation of a commercially available euthanasia solution as a voluntarily ingested euthanasia agent in laboratory mice. JAALAS 57(1), 30-34.

All currently accepted methods of euthanasia for laboratory mice involve some degree of stress, fear, anxiety, or pain. We evaluated the voluntary oral administration of a euthanasia drug in 99 male and 81 female mice...

Mei, J., Riedel, N., Grittner, U. et al. 2018. Body temperature measurement in mice during acute illness: Implantable temperature transponder versus surface infrared thermometry. Scientific Reports 8, 3526.

Body temperature is a valuable parameter in determining the wellbeing of laboratory animals. However, using body temperature to refine humane endpoints during acute illness generally lacks comprehensiveness and exposes to inter-observer bias. Here we compared...

Lahger, C., Laska, M. 2018. Behavioral responses of CD-1 mice to conspecific and heterospecific blood odors and to a blood odor component. Physiology & Behavior 184, 2015-210.

The odor of blood may have both aversive and attractive properties for mammals, depending on the species of the odor donor and the species perceiving the odor. To better understand the informational content of blood...

Weineck, K., Ray, A. J., Fleckenstein, L. J. et al. 2018. Physiological changes as a measure of crustacean welfare under different standardized stunning techniques: Cooling and electroshock. Animals 8(9), 158.

Stunning of edible crustaceans to reduce sensory perception prior and during slaughter is an important topic in animal welfare. The purpose of this project was to determine how neural circuits were affected during stunning by...

Creamer-Hente, M. A., Lao, F. K., Dragos, Z. P. et al. 2018. Sex- and strain-related differences in the stress response of mice to CO₂ euthanasia. JAALAS 57(5), 513–519.

The 2013 edition of the AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals recommends a 10% to 30% volume displacement rate (VDR) per minute for CO2 euthanasia of rodents. Here we sought to evaluate behavior and...

Marquardt, N., Feja, M., Hünigen, H. et al. 2018. Euthanasia of laboratory mice: Are isoflurane and sevoflurane real alternatives to carbon dioxide? PLOS ONE 13(9), e0203793.

In the European Union (EU) millions of laboratory mice are used and killed for experimental and other scientific purposes each year. Although controversially discussed, the use of carbon dioxide (CO2) is still permitted for killing...

Unakafov, A. M., Möller, S., Kagan, I. et al. 2018. Using imaging photoplethysmography for heart rate estimation in non-human primates. PLOS ONE 13(8), e0202581.

For humans and for non-human primates heart rate is a reliable indicator of an individual’s current physiological state, with applications ranging from health checks to experimental studies of cognitive and emotional state. In humans, changes...

Sutherland, M. A., Watson, T. J., Millman, S. T. 2017. Technical contribution: evaluation of the efficacy of a non-penetrating captive bolt to euthanase dairy goat kids up to 30 days of age. Animal Welfare 26(3), 277-280.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a non-penetrating captive bolt (NPCB) to euthanase previously disbudded Saanen dairy goat kids (Capra hircus) up to 30 days of age and 9 kg...

Peric, T., Comin, A., Corazzin, M. et al. 2017. Relocation and hair cortisol concentrations in New Zealand White rabbits. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 20(1), 1-8.

To investigate how long relocation modified hair cortisol concentrations in New Zealand white rabbits, 19 rabbits were subjected to a change in their breeding facility at the beginning of the trial and then were kept...

Walsh, J., Percival, A., Turner, P. 2017. Efficacy of blunt force trauma, a novel mechanical cervical dislocation device, and a non-penetrating captive bolt device for on-farm euthanasia of pre-weaned kits, growers, and adult commercial meat rabbits. Animals 7(12), 100.

The commercial meat rabbit industry is without validated on-farm euthanasia methods, potentially resulting in inadequate euthanasia protocols. We evaluated blunt force trauma (BFT), a mechanical cervical dislocation device (MCD), and a non-penetrating captive bolt device...

Boivin, G. P., Hickman, D. L., Creamer-Hente, M. A. et al. 2017. Review of CO2 as a euthanasia agent for laboratory rats and mice. JAALAS 56(5), 491-499.

Selecting an appropriate, effective euthanasia agent is controversial. Several recent publications provide clarity on the use of CO2 in laboratory rats and mice. This review examines previous studies on CO2 euthanasia and presents the current...

de Souza Dyer, C., Brice, A. K., Marx, J. O. 2017. Intraperitoneal administration of ethanol as a means of euthanasia for neonatal mice (Mus musculus). JAALAS 56(3), 299-306.

The humane euthanasia of animals in research is of paramount importance. Neonatal mice frequently respond differently to euthanasia agents when compared with adults. The AVMA's Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals includes intraperitoneal injection of...

Boivin, G. P., Bottomley, M. A., Schiml, P. A. et al. 2017. Physiologic, behavioral, and histologic responses to various euthanasia methods in C57BL/6NTac male mice. JAALAS 56(1), 69-78.

Rodent euthanasia using exposure to increasing concentrations of CO2 has come under scrutiny due to concerns of potential pain during the euthanasia process. Alternatives to CO2, such as isoflurane and barbiturates, have been proposed as...

Guedes, S. R., Valentim, A. M., Antunes, L. M. 2017. Mice aversion to sevoflurane, isoflurane and carbon dioxide using an approach-avoidance task. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 189, 91-97.

Euthanasia of laboratory animals is one of the main concerns for animal welfare, especially the use of carbon dioxide (CO2) which has been described to induce aversive-like behaviours. In order to refine mass euthanasia in...

Tucker, R. D. 2017. Woodchuck College. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 5(2) (June), 33-36.

Marmota monax is a valuable laboratory animal species used in studies of Hepatitis B virus (HBV), food intake, obesity, hibernation, and circannual cycles. This article describes the woodchuck’s (also known as groundhog) natural behavior and...

Grant, C., Marks, L., Prior, H. 2017. Provision of food and water in rodent whole body plethysmography safety pharmacology respiratory studies – Impact on animal welfare and data quality. Journal of Pharmacological and Toxicological Methods 88(Part 1), 79-84.

Introduction: We evaluated the feasibility of providing food and water to rodents during whole body plethysmography (WBP) studies as a welfare improvement to standard conditions. Methods: Male Han Wistar rats or CD1 mice (n=8) were...

Sutherland, M. A., Watson, T. J., Johnson, C. B. et al. 2016. Evaluation of the efficacy of a non-penetrating captive bolt to euthanase neonatal goats up to 48 hours of age. Animal Welfare 25(4), 471-479.

Manual blunt force trauma is a common method of euthanasia or culling of goat kids, however it is difficult to apply consistently and may vary in effectiveness. Therefore, a controlled mechanical method is needed. The...

Roth, B., Grimsbø, E. 2016. Electrical stunning of edible crabs (Cancer pagurus): from single experiments to commercial practice. Animal Welfare 25(4), 489-497.

To determine the optimal electrical stunning conditions for edible crabs (Cancer pagurus) their impedance was investigated along with currents with the potential to render the animal insensible within 1 s. This information was used to...