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. 
Golledge, H., Richardson, C. (Eds.) 2024. The UFAW Handbook on the Care and Management of Laboratory and Other Research Animals (9th ed.). Wiley-Blackwell. 1040 p.

The latest edition of the seminal reference on the care and management of laboratory and research animals. The newly revised ninth edition of The UFAW Handbook on the Care and Management of Laboratory and Other...

Robinson, L. M., Weiss, A. (Eds.) 2023. Nonhuman Primate Welfare: From History, Science, and Ethics to Practice. Springer, Cham, Switzerland. 671 p.

This volume reviews the broad topic of welfare in nonhuman primates under human care. Chapters detail the history of primates in captivity, ethical and legal issues surrounding the use of nonhuman primates as entertainment or...

Alig, B. N., Ferket, P. R., Malheiros, R. D. et al. 2023. The effect of housing environment on commercial brown egg layer production, USDA grade and USDA size distribution. Animals 13(4), 694

Consumer demand for retail cage-free eggs is driving the layer industry towards greater use of extensive housing environments. However, there is limited research on how these environments affect egg production characteristics of brown egg layers...

Hobbiesiefken, U., Urmersbach, B., Jaap, A. et al. 2023. Rating enrichment items by female group-housed laboratory mice in multiple binary choice tests using an RFID-based tracking system. PLOS ONE 18(1), e0278709.

Laboratory mice spend most of their lives in cages, not experiments, so improving housing conditions is a first-choice approach to improving their welfare. Despite the increasing popularity of enrichment, little is known about the benefits...

Lee, G.-H., Kim, K., Jo, W. 2023. Stress evaluation of mouse husbandry environments for improving laboratory animal welfare. Animals 13(2), 249.

Animal welfare is recognized as essential for the coexistence of humans and animals. Considering the increased demand and interest in animal welfare, many methods for improving animal welfare are being devised, but which method reduces...

Marks, C. A., Allen, L., Lindeberg, H. 2023. Non-lethal dose-response models replace lethal bioassays for predicting the hazard of para-animopropiophenone to Australian wildlife. Animals 13(3), 472.

Para-aminopropiophenone (PAPP) is a potent methaemoglobin (MetHb) forming agent used for the lethal control of exotic carnivores and mustelids. To assess the sensitivity of Australian wildlife to PAPP we developed an in vivo assay that...

Paneru, B., Pent, G. J., Nastasi, S. et al. 2023. Effect of silvopasture system on fearfulness and leg health in fast-growing broiler chickens. PLOS ONE 18(3), e0282923.

A silvopasture system intentionally integrates trees, forages, and livestock, allowing dual land use. These systems can provide high-quality habitat for broiler chickens; however, such systems have not been widely adopted by the broiler industry in...

Skånberg, L., Newberry, R. C., Estevez, I. et al. 2023. Environmental change or choice during early rearing improves behavioural adaptability in laying hen chicks. Scientific Reports 13(1), 6178.

Laying hens are typically moved to a novel environment after rearing, requiring adaptability to cope with change. We hypothesized that the standard rearing of laying hen chicks, in non-changing environments with limited choices (a single...

Sokołowicz, Z., Dykiel, M., Topczewska, J. et al. 2023. A comparison of the plumage condition of three egg-laying poultry genotypes housed in non-cage systems. Animals 13(2), 185.

The study covered a total of 810 hens in 3 groups (housing systems) of 270 hens each. The plumage condition of laying hens raised in various types of alternative housing systems, i.e., in deep litter...

Montalcini, C. M., Petelle, M. B., Toscano, M. J. 2023. Commercial hatchery practices have long-lasting effects on laying hens’ spatial behaviour and health. PLOS ONE 18(12), e0295560.

The commercial hatchery process is globally standardized and exposes billions of day-old layer chicks to stress every year. By alleviating this early stress, on-farm hatching is thought to improve animal welfare, yet little is known...

Stevens, C., Hammonds, T., Hinchcliffe, J. et al. 2023. Report of the 2022 RSPCA/UFAW Rodent Welfare Group Meeting. Animal Technology and Welfare 22(2), 91–100.

The RSPCA/UFAW Rodent Welfare Group has held a one-day meeting every autumn for the last 29 years, so that its members can discuss current welfare research, exchange views on welfare issues and share experiences of...

Wittek, L., Touma, C., Nitezki, T. et al. 2023. Reduction in cold stress in an innovative metabolic cage housing system increases animal welfare in laboratory mice. Animals 13(18), 2866.

Housing in metabolic cages can induce a pronounced stress response. Metabolic cage systems imply housing mice on metal wire mesh for the collection of urine and feces in addition to monitoring food and water intake...

Munro, B. A., Merenick, D. R., Gee, J. M. et al. 2023. Use of loss of righting reflex to assess susceptibility to carbon dioxide gas in three mouse strains. JAALAS 62(6), 553–558.

Exposure to CO2 gas is a common rodent euthanasia method. CO2 activates nociceptors in rats and is painful to humans at concentrations equal to or greater than 32.5% The concentration of CO2 at which rodents...

de Oliveira sans, E. C., Dahlke, F., Freitas Federici, J. et al. 2023. Welfare of broiler chickens in Brazilian free-range versus intensive indoor production systems. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 26(4), 505–517.

We compared broiler chicken welfare in free-range (FR) and intensive indoor (IN) systems using the Welfare Quality® Protocol. Ten FR and 11 IN farms in Brazil were assessed. Results are shown as either scores ranging...

Hickman, D. L. 2023. Euthanasia of neonatal rats and mice using carbon monoxide. JAALAS 62(3), 274–278.

Minimization of potential pain and distress of rodents undergoing euthanasia is a touchstone of veterinary clinical medicine. Evaluation of this issue in postweanling rodents has supported revisions to the AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association) Guidelines...

Stuckey, J. E., Makhija, S. D., Reimer, D. C. et al. 2023. Effects of different grades of carbon dioxide on euthanasia of mice (Mus musculus). JAALAS 62(5), 430–437.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a conditionally acceptable method for mouse euthanasia, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals. In a 2012 Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) webinar, representatives...

Rana, M. S., Lee, C., Lea, J. M. et al. 2022. Commercial free-range laying hens’ preferences for shelters with different sunlight filtering percentages. Animals 12(3), 344.

Extreme sunlight might be aversive to free-range laying hens, discouraging them from going outside. Range enrichment with artificial shelters may protect hens from sunlight and increase range use. The preferences of 34–40-week-old Hy-Line Brown laying...

Kitchenham, L., Nazal, B., Adcock, A. et al. 2022. Why does lifelong conventional housing reduce the sociability of female mice? Applied Animal Behaviour Science 246, 105532.

Compared to peers raised in well-resourced, 'enriched' environments (‘EE’), female laboratory mice from conventional barren cages are more aggressive to their cage-mates, and less sociable with familiar non-cage-mates (especially if these too are from conventional...

Mels, C., Niebuhr, K., Futschik, A. et al. 2022. Predictors for plumage damage and bloody lesions indicative of feather pecking in pullets reared in aviaries. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 250, 105607.

Feather pecking remains a serious problem in poultry farming. This study aimed to identify risk factors for plumage damage as a proxy for feather pecking, and the predictive value of practical animal-based parameters. Data were...

Stover, M. G., Villano, J. S. 2022. Evaluation of various IVC systems according to mouse reproductive performance and husbandry and environmental parameters. JAALAS 61(1), 31-41.

IVC systems are marketed for improving the health and management of mouse colonies. The current study compared mouse reproductive performance and husbandry and environmental parameters among 3 high-density (HD) IVC rack systems (RS1, RS2, and...

Ziegler, A. A., Grobe, C. C., Reho, J. J. et al. 2022. Short-term housing in metabolic caging on measures of energy and fluid balance in male C57BL/6J mice (Mus musculus). JAALAS 61(2), 132-139.

Metabolic caging is an important tool for quantitative urine and feces collection in rodents, although significant limitations and problems accompany its use. Despite strong opinions among investigators regarding the effects of metabolic caging on energy...

Campbell, A. M., Johnson, A. M., Persia, M. E. et al. 2022. Effects of housing system on anxiety, chronic stress, fear, and immune function in Bovan brown laying hens. Animals 12(14), 1803.

The scientific community needs objective measures to appropriately assess animal welfare. The study objective was to assess the impact of housing system on novel physiological and behavioral measurements of animal welfare for laying hens, including...

Hickman, D. L. 2022. Minimal exposure times for irreversible euthanasia with carbon dioxide in mice and rats. JAALAS 61(3), 283-286.

When using an anesthetic overdose to euthanize laboratory rodents, a secondary method of euthanasia is recommended to ensure that the apparent death is irreversible. This secondary method usually is accomplished through the collection of tissues...

McKinney, M. M., Dupont, W. D., Corson, K. J. et al. 2022. Physiologic and behavioral effects in mice anesthetized with isoflurane in a red-tinted or a traditional translucent chamber. JAALAS 61(4), 322-332.

Isoflurane has been characterized as a distressing agent for rodents, causing both physiologic and behavioral effects. Using a "darkened home cage" has been recommended during CO2 administration for rodent euthanasia; this is arguably a similar...

Clarkson, J. M., Martin, J. E., McKeegan, D. E. F. 2022. A review of methods used to kill laboratory rodents: Issues and opportunities. Laboratory Animals 56(5), 419-436.

Rodents are the most widely used species for scientific purposes. A critical pre-requisite of their use, based on utilitarian ethical reasoning, is the provision of a humane death when necessary for scientific or welfare grounds...