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. 
Leeds, A., Lukas, K. E. 2018. Experimentally evaluating the function of self-directed behaviour in two adult mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx). Animal Welfare 27(1), 81-86.

Given the difficulties of conducting regular endocrine and veterinary assessments of animals, behavioural observations are often the most commonly used tool to assess the welfare of animals in human care. Behavioural measures, inexpensive and convenient...

Lofgren, J., Miller, A. L., Shan Lee, C. C. et al. 2018. Analgesics promote welfare and sustain tumour growth in orthotopic 4T1 and B16 mouse cancer models. Laboratory Animals 52(4), 351-364.

Murine orthotopic cancer models often require surgery, potentially causing pain or distress. However, analgesics are often withheld because they may alter tumour development. Two orthotopically implanted cancers were investigated in mice pre-treated with meloxicam (10...

Costa, R., Sousa, C., Llorente, M. 2018. Assessment of environmental enrichment for different primate species under low budget: A case study. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 21(2), 185-199.

The 2011 European Union Zoo Inquiry presented evidence that most zoos fail to achieve adequate levels of nonhuman animal welfare. Appropriate environmental enrichment (EE) can play a role in the promotion of welfare. However, financial...

Bacon, H. 2018. Behaviour-based husbandry—A holistic approach to the management of abnormal repetitive behaviors. Animals 8(7), 103.

The field of zoo animal welfare science has developed significantly over recent years. However despite this progress in terms of scientific research, globally, zoo animals still face many welfare challenges. Recently, animal welfare frameworks such...

Van der Saag, D., White, P., Ingram, L. et al. 2018. Effects of topical anaesthetic and buccal meloxicam treatments on concurrent castration and dehorning of beef calves. Animals 8(3), 35.

The use of pain relief during castration and dehorning of calves on commercial beef operations can be limited by constraints associated with the delivery of analgesic agents. As topical anaesthetic (TA) and buccal meloxicam (MEL)...

Evangelista-Vaz, R., Bergadano, A., Arras, M. et al. 2018. Analgesic efficacy of subcutaneous–oral dosage of tramadol after surgery in C57BL/6J mice. JAALAS 57(4), 368-375.

This study investigated the analgesic activity of tramadol in female C57BL/6J mice by using a single subcutaneous injection (25 mg/kg) of tramadol combined with the same dose given in drinking water for 24 h. We...

Beninson, J. A., Lofgren, J. L., Lester, P. A. et al. 2018. Analgesic efficacy and hematologic effects of robenacoxib in mice. JAALAS 57(3), 258-267.

NSAID analgesics may confound models that require inflammation to mimic disease development in humans. This effect presents a challenge for veterinary staff and investigators, because surgery is often necessary to create mouse models of disease...

Chatigny, F., Creighton, C. M., Stevens, E. D. 2018. Updated review of fish analgesia. JAALAS 57(1), 5-12.

Analgesics are an integral part of routine pain management in mammals, yet their use in fish is still limited. Some recommendations on the use of analgesics in fish are currently in the literature; however, information...

Brand, C. M., Marchant, L. F. 2018. Prevalence and characteristics of hair plucking in captive bonobos (Pan paniscus) in North American zoos. American Journal of Primatology 80(4), e22751.

When primates exhibit hair loss and are observed to engage in self or social hair plucking (a rapid jerking away of the hair shaft and follicle by the hand or mouth, often accompanied by inspection...

Khudamrongsawat, J., Nakchamnan, K., Laithong, P. et al. 2018. Abnormal repetitive behaviours of confiscated slow loris (Nycticebus spp.) in Thailand. Folia Primatologica 89(3-4), 216-223.

The illegal wildlife trade, especially of live animals, is a major threat to slow lorises. Large numbers of confiscated slow lorises are sent to rescue facilities. We aimed to describe the occurrence and types of...

Lutz, C. K. 2018. A cross-species comparison of abnormal behavior in three species of singly-housed old world monkeys. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 199, 52-58.

Abnormal behavior occurs in a number of captive nonhuman primate species and is often used as an indicator of welfare. However, reported levels of abnormal behavior often vary across species, making general welfare judgments difficult...

Jirkof, P., Arras, M., Cesarovic, N. 2018. Tramadol:Paracetamol in drinking water for treatment of post-surgical pain in laboratory mice. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 198, 95-100.

In the search for stress-free analgesia administration for laboratory mice suffering pain, oral delivery of Tramadol:Paracetamol (T:P) shows great promise. Here, we monitored the analgesic efficacy and side effects of a T:P combination administered solely...

Mellor, E., Brilot, B., Collins, S. 2018. Abnormal repetitive behaviours in captive birds: a Tinbergian review. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 198, 109-120.

Abnormal repetitive behaviours (ARBs) are associated with past, or present, welfare problems and are common elements of the behavioural repertoire of some captive animals, including birds. Millions of birds from hundreds of species are held...

de Boyer des Roches, A., Lussert, A., Faure, M. et al. 2018. Dairy cows under experimentally-induced Escherichia coli mastitis show negative emotional states assessed through Qualitative Behaviour Assessment. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 206, 1-11.

Mastitis and associated pain have been identified as a major health and welfare problem affecting dairy cows, however little is known about how cows emotionally experience this illness. Qualitative behaviour assessment (QBA) is a ‘whole...

Sutherland, M. A., Larive, J., Cave, V. et al. 2018. Behavioural and physiological responses to clove oil injected under the horn bud of calves. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 204, 29-36.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the acute and longer-term behavioural and physiological responses caused by administering clove oil under the horn bud of calves and compare these with the responses caused by...

Webb, S. J. N., Hau, J., Schapiro, S. J. 2018. Refinements to captive chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) care: a self-medication paradigm. Animal Welfare 27(4), 327-341.

In an effort to enhance welfare, behavioural management continually refines methods of non-human primate (NHP) care. Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) are one of the most cognitively complex captive NHPs and they have been observed to self-medicate...

Gladden, N., McKeegan, D., Viora, L. et al. 2018. Postpartum ketoprofen treatment does not alter stress biomarkers in cows and calves experiencing assisted and unassisted parturition: A randomised controlled trial. Veterinary Record 183(13), 414.

Dystocia is considered painful and stressful for both the dam and the calf, although systematic evidence of this is limited. Few studies have investigated biochemical markers of stress and pain postpartum and whether any adverse...

Ekesbo, I., Gunnarsson, S. 2018. Farm Animal Behaviour: Characteristics for Assessment and Welfare (2nd ed). CABI, Wallingford, UK.

Completely updated and revised, and with a new author team, this second edition of Farm Animal Behaviour continues to provide essential information on normal and stereotypic behaviors in a wide variety of farm animals to...

Jirkof, P. 2017. Side effects of pain and analgesia in animal experimentation. Lab Animal 46(4), 123-128.

This review highlights selected effects of untreated pain and of widely used analgesics such as opioids, non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs and antipyretics, to illustrate the relevance of carefully planned, appropriate and controlled analgesia for greater reproducibility...

Salyards, G. W., Lemoy, M.-J., Knych, H. K. et al. 2017. Pharmacokinetics of a novel, transdermal fentanyl solution in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). JAALAS 56(4), 443-451.

Rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) are the most commonly used NHP biomedical model and experience both research and clinical procedures requiring analgesia. Opioids are a mainstay of analgesic therapy. A novel, transdermal fentanyl solution (TFS) has...

Chatigny, F., Kamunde, C., Creighton, C. M. et al. 2017. Uses and doses of local anesthetics in fish, amphibians, and reptiles. JAALAS 56(3), 244-253.

Local anesthetics are an integral part of routine pain management in mammals, yet their use is relatively limited in fish, amphibians and reptiles. These animals frequently undergo potentially painful surgical procedures and therefore could possibly...

Cary, C. D., Lukovsky-Akhsanov, N. L., Gallardo-Romero, N. F. et al. 2017. Pharmacokinetic profiles of meloxicam and sustained-release buprenorphine in prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus). JAALAS 56(2), 160-165.

In this study, we evaluated the pharmacokinetic profiles of meloxicam and sustained-release (SR) buprenorphine in prairie dogs. The 4 treatment groups were: low-dose meloxicam (0.2 mg/kg SC), high-dose meloxicam (4 mg/kg SC), low-dose buprenorphine SR...

Heagerty, A., Wales, R. A., Prongay, K. et al. 2017. Social hair pulling in captive rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). American Journal of Primatology 79(12), e22720.

Alopecia is common among captive populations of nonhuman primates. There are many potential causes of alopecia, including physiological conditions such as hormonal imbalance and infection, features of the captive environment such as housing type, ground...

Novak, M. A., Menard, M. T., El-Mallah, S. N. et al. 2017. Assessing significant (>30%) alopecia as a possible biomarker for stress in captive rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). American Journal of Primatology 79(1), e22547.

Hair loss is common in macaque colonies. Very little is known about the relationship between psychological stress and hair loss. We initially examined alopecia and hair cortisol concentrations in 198 (89 male) rhesus macaques from...

Kroeker, R., Lee, G. H., Bellanca, R. U. et al. 2017. Prior facility affects alopecia in adulthood for rhesus macaques. American Journal of Primatology 79(1), e22551.

Alopecia has proven to be a persistent problem for captive macaques; many cases continue to elude explanations and effective treatments. Although almost all captive populations exhibit alopecia rates higher than those seen in the wild...