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. 
Baumans, V. 2005. Environmental enrichment for laboratory rodents and rabbits: Requirements of rodents, rabbits, and research. ILAR Journal 46(2), 162-170.

Environmental conditions such as housing and husbandry have a major impact on the laboratory animal throughout its life and will thereby influence the outcome of animal experiments. However, housing systems for laboratory animals have often...

Barley, J. B., Cherry, K. A., Garner, J. et al. 2004. Water leakage in rodent cages: A discussion by the Laboratory Animal Refinement and Enrichment Forum. Animal Technology and Welfare 3, 111-114.

It is not uncommon that malfunctioning in watering valves or leaks of water bottles result in the accumulation of water in rodent cages (especially during holidays and on weekends), a circumstance that can have serious...

Key, D. 2004. Environmental enrichment options for laboratory rats and mice. Lab Animal 33(2), 39-44.

Environmental enrichment is the alteration of animals' microenvironment to provide them with the opportunity to perfrom species-specific behaviors that we perceive as positive, while reducing abnormal behaviors. [p. 39] Several interesting products are now available...

Garner, J. P., Weisker, S. M., Dufour, B. et al. 2004. Barbering (fur and whisker trimming) by laboratory mice as a model of human trichotillomania and obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders. Comparative Medicine 54(2), 216-224.

In a typical cage of barbered mice, all but one individual will have near-identical patterns of hair loss. The intact individual (the 'barber') is removing hair from its companions. .. Barbers hold down their cage...

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...

Applebee, K. A. 2002. Rodent environmental enrichment - animal welfare or human feel-good factor. Animal Technology and Welfare 1(2), 65-69.

This article discusses environmental enrichment for rodents, mainly mice and rats housed in conventional caging, in U.K. research facilities. Environmental enrichment should allow and encourage animals to perform normal behavioural patterns. Cage furniture cannot be...

Olsson, I. A. S., Dahlborn, K. 2002. Improving housing conditions for laboratory mice: A review of 'environmental enrichment'. Laboratory Animals 36, 243-270.

We have reviewed 40 studies carried out between 1987 and 2000, in which preferences as well as the effect of housing modifications have been studied. Mice will work for access to nesting material and make...

Fernández-Teruel, A., Giménez-Llort, L., Escorihuela, R. M. et al. 2002. Early-life handling stimulation and environmental enrichment: Are some of their effects mediated by similar neural mechanisms? Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior 73(1), 233-245.

Neonatal (early) handling (EH) and environmental enrichment (EE) of laboratory rodents have been the two most commonly used methods of providing supplementary environmental stimulation in order to study behavioral and neurobiological plasticity. A large body...

Fullwood, S., Hicks, T. A., Brown, J. C. et al. 1998. Floor space needs for laboratory mice: C57BL/6 males in solid-bottom cages with bedding. ILAR Journal 39(1), 29-36.

Different floor space allocations of cages that were barren except bedding were tested in groups of 3 male mice. Space reduction - from 129 to 32 square cm per mouse - had no impact on...

Pecenko, N. 1997. Visitors as an environmental enrichment. In: Proceedings on the International Conference on Environmental Enrichment. Holst, B. (ed), 325-33. Copenhagen Zoo, Frederiksberg, DK.

Because of the influence in behaviour, we can say that visitors are a kind of environmental enrichment. .... Sometimes visitors have a negative effect (increase of aggressive behaviour, begging for food) and in some cases...

Dahlborn, K., van Gils, B. A. A., van de Weerd, H. A. et al. 1996. Evaluation of long-term environmental enrichment in the mouse. Scandinavian Journal of Laboratory Animal Science 23(Supplement 1), 97-106. (Conference Paper)

It appears that mice who were enriched with both objects [nest box and plastic tube] and nesting material were more active, and spent less time on feeding and drinking, and they weight less compared to...

Wurbel, H., Stauffacher, M. 1994. Standard-Haltung fur Labormause - Probleme und Losungsasatze. Tierlaboratorium 17, 109-118.

The high prevalence of stereotypies in mice kept in standard animal facilities is underscored.

Boyd, J. 1988. Mice. Humane Innovations and Alternatives in Animal Experimentation 2, 49-50.

Description of an ingenious, simple method to minimize odor, provide species-appropriate nesting opportunities and to facilitate cleaning.

Panksepp, J., Herman, B. H., Vilberg, T. et al. 1980. Endogenous opioids and social behavior. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 4(4), 473-487.

Evidence for the hypothesis that brain-opioids mediate social affect and social attachments is summarized. Opiates and opioids are very effective in reducing social separation-induced distress vocalizations (DVs), in puppies, young guinea pigs and chicks, while...

Mantel, N. 1980. Assessing laboratory evidence for neoplastic activity. Biometics 36, 381-399.

Mortality and tumor incidence in corcinogenesis experiments differ between mice caged in the top vs. bottom of the rack.

Herreid, C. F., Schlenker, E. H. 1980. Energetics of mice in stable and unstable social conditions: evidence of an air-borne factor affecting metabolism. Animal Behaviour 28, 20-28.

Male mice kept individually have a 15% higher metabolic rate than mice kept in stable same gender pairs.

Gutwein, B. M., Fishbein, W. 1980. Paradoxical sleep and memory (I): Selective alterations following enriched and impoverished environmental rearing. Brain Research Bulletin 5(1), 9-12.

Mice were reared in either enriched (EE), social control, (SE), or impoverished (IE) environments for 30 days. Environmental enrichment results in a significant and selective increase in paradoxical sleep (PS, or REM sleep) and also...

Vanjonack, W. J., Johnson, H. D. 1973. Relationship of thyroid and adrenal function to fur-chewing in the chinchilla. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology 45, 115-120.

The fur-chewing chinchillas showed increased thyroid activity (P