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. 
Koch, A. L., Rusnak, M., Peachee, K. et al. 2021. Comparison of the effects of osmotic pump implantation with subcutaneous injection for administration of drugs after total body irradiation in mice. Laboratory Animals 55(2), 142-149.

The increasing potential for radiation exposure from nuclear accidents or terrorist activities has intensified the need to develop pharmacologic countermeasures against injury from total body irradiation (TBI). Many initial experiments to develop and test these...

Higgins, K., Guerrel, J., Lassiter, E. et al. 2021. Observations on spindly leg syndrome in a captive population of Andinobates geminisae. Zoo Biology 40(4), 330-341.

Amphibian health problems of unknown cause limit the success of the growing number of captive breeding programs. Spindly leg syndrome (SLS) is one such disease, where affected individuals with underdeveloped limbs often require euthanization. We...

Satokar, V., Vickers, M., Bridge-Comer, P. et al. 2021. Emulsified gels: A refined vehicle for accurate and rapid oral administration of lipid based preparations to rats. Animal Technology and Welfare 20(2), 95-103.

Oro-gastric gavage is used to accurately administer nutritional substances or drugs to animals. However, it induces stress and has a substantial risk of mishap. Incorporation into edible gels is difficult for lipid-based preparations. We report...

Dickinson, A. 2021. Maximising efficacy of your health monitoring programme. Animal Technology and Welfare 20(3), 255-257.

There are a multitude of health monitoring techniques/ methods available. It can be difficult to know which of these to use and when to use them. This is an attempt to simplify, maximise the efficacy...

Locklear, J., Whiteside, T. E. 2021. Optimal colloidal water gel type and novel placement for frequent travelers. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 9(6) (November/December), 38-40.

During transportation, animals must have a water source available to prevent dehydration. Some shipping facilities use potatoes whereas, others use colloidal water gels that provide a uniform water source. The problem occurs when colloidal water...

LaFollette, M. R., Cunningham-Faughnan, T., Foley, P. L. et al. 2021. Replacing soiled bedding sentinel rodents with environmental health monitoring: Evidence and tips. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 9(6) (November/December), 46-48.

Traditional rodent health monitoring programs involve transferring soiled bedding from colony cages to sentinel cages. While it can vary, the sentinel animals are ultimately euthanized after 3-6 mo of soiled bedding exposure. Using traditional soiled...

Miller, L. J., Lauderdale, L. K., Mellen, J. D. 2021. Relationships between animal management and habitat characteristics with two potential indicators of welfare for bottlenose dolphins under professional care. PLOS ONE 16(8), e0252861.

Accredited zoos and aquariums continually strive to ensure high levels of animal welfare for the animals under their professional care. Best management practices include conducting research to better understand factors that lead to optimal welfare...

Lauderdale, L. K., Shorter, K. A., Zhang, D. et al. 2021. Habitat characteristics and animal management factors associated with habitat use by bottlenose dolphins in zoological environments. PLOS ONE 16(8), e0252010.

The way an animal uses its habitat can serve as an indicator of habitat appropriateness for the species and individuals. Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus and Tursiops aduncus) in accredited zoos and aquariums experience a range...

Grims, C., Jacobson, C., Hedenqvist, P. 2021. Are female mice dehydrated during peak lactation? Effect of water and gel supplement on hydration parameters and water consumption in two strains of mice. Scandinavian Journal of Laboratory Animal Science 47(3), 16-24.

Mice (Mus musculus) have a high basal rate of metabolism which increases during pregnancy and lactation. During peak lactation, water intake amounts to up to 65 % of the bodyweight per day. Providing water in...

Watson, P. 2021. Management of naked mole rats (Heterocephalus glaber) at Chester Zoo. RATEL (Journal of the Association of British and Irish Wild Animal Keepers) 48(3), 24-26.

This species first arrived at Chester Zoo in June 2014 when a colony of 27 animals was imported from Dresden Zoo, Germany. As with any new species our journey with naked mole rats has not...

Reese, L., Ladwig-Wiegard, M., von Fersen, L. et al. 2020. Deflighting zoo birds and its welfare considerations. Animal Welfare 29(1), 69-80.

For over a century, the practice of deflighting has taken place in zoological collections in order to ensure birds remain in open-topped enclosures. Over time, efforts have been made to improve or develop new (surgical)...

Jirkof, P., Bratcher, N., Medina, L. et al. 2020. The effect of group size, age and handling frequency on inter-male aggression in CD 1 mice. Scientific Reports 10(1), 2253.

Aggression in male mice often leads to injury and death, making social housing difficult. We tested whether (1) small group size, (2) early age of allocation to a group decreases aggression and 3) manipulation increases...

Niklaus, S., Albertini, S., Schnitzer, T. et al. 2020. Challenging a myth and misconception: Red-light vision in rats. Animals 10(3), 422.

Due to the lack of L-cones in the rodent retina, it is generally assumed that red light is invisible to rodents. Thus, red lights and red filter foils are widely used in rodent husbandry and...

Araújo Tavares, G., Cavalcanti do Amaral Almeida, L., Araújo de Souza, J. et al. 2020. Early weaning disrupts feeding patterns in female juvenile rats through 5HT-system modulations. Behavioural Processes 170, 103981.

Convergent evidence in literature shows that rapid disruption of maternal care and breastfeeding due to an early weaning protocol changes the development of several neurobehavioral patterns in rodents, including the circadian pattern of feeding. The...

House, G. M., Sobotik, E. B., Nelson, J. R. et al. 2020. Effects of ultraviolet light supplementation on Pekin duck production, behavior, and welfare. Animals 10(5), 833.

Ducks, like other domestic poultry species, can visualize the ultraviolet (UV) portion of the light spectrum; however, the importance of UV light radiation in artificially lit duck growout facilities remains unknown. The objective of this...

Filby, E. 2020. What 3Rs idea have you developed? Animal Technology and Welfare 19(1), 49-51.

The author describes how she used an automated system to reduce how frequently mouse cage bedding is changed without compromising cleanliness. This idea came from the desire to reduce animal stress to a minimum.

Forrest, G., Sattar, A., Evenden, P. et al. 2020. A sweet change to the needle. Animal Technology and Welfare 19(1), 73-75.

The Named Veterinary Surgeon (NVS) at the Royal Veterinary College in London suggested providing post-operative pain relief (carprofen) to rats in raspberry flavoured jelly to avoid the use of s.c. injections. This article provides a...

Oralman, T. 2020. Confronting crunching: A refinement for the care of mice with the desire to crunch. Animal Technology and Welfare 19(1), 89-91.

‘Crunching’ is the term often used to describe the abnormal behaviour of mice that habitually crunch their pelleted diet, causing substrate levels to rise as the crumbs settle on the cage floor ultimately burying the...

Ballantine, A., Rodgers, D., Watts, C. et al. 2020. The cotton rat – a new challenge. Animal Technology and Welfare 19(1), 92-95.

This poster describes how the Animal Technologists at Envigo adapted their current practices and procedures for a new species at their laboratory: the cotton rat. The paper describes cotton rat biology and behaviour; housing; environmental...

Wang, R., Liu, R., Li, L. et al. 2020. Fasting is not required for measuring plasma lipid levels in rabbits. Laboratory Animals 54(3), 272–280.

Plasma lipid and glucose levels are important parameters for evaluating the onset and development of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. In clinical and experimental studies of humans or mice, fasting is often required before testing plasma...

Kersemans, V., Wallington, S., Allen, P. D. et al. 2020. Manganese-free chow, a refined non-invasive solution to reduce gastrointestinal signal for T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging of the mouse abdomen. Laboratory Animals 54(4), 353–364.

Commercial mouse chow is designed to provide a complete, nutrient-rich diet, and it can contain upwards of 100 mg/kg manganese, an essential mineral. Manganese acts as a relaxation time-shortening contrast agent for both T1 and T2...

Morello, G. M., Hultgren, J., Capas-Peneda, S. et al. 2020. High laboratory mouse pre-weaning mortality associated with litter overlap, advanced dam age, small and large litters. PLOS ONE 15(8): e0236290.

High and variable pre-weaning mortality is a persistent problem in laboratory mouse breeding. Assuming a modest 15% mortality rate across mouse strains, means that approximately 1 million more pups are produced yearly in the EU...

Kneeland, M. R., Spagnuolo, V. A., Evers, D. C. et al. 2020. A novel method for captive rearing and translocation of juvenile common loons. Zoo Biology 39(4), 263–270.

Common loons (Gavia immer) are diving waterbirds that are particularly challenging to keep in captivity due to their specific behavioral and physiologic needs, special housing requirements, and susceptibility to stress‐related disease. We report a novel...

Feige-Diller, J., Krakenberg, V., Bierbaum, L. et al. 2020. The effects of different feeding routines on welfare in laboratory mice. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 6, 479.

The accepted norm in most laboratories around the globe is feeding laboratory mice an ad libitum diet, although several health impairments are well-established. In contrast, reducing the animals' body weight by feeding them less food...

Reinhardt, V. (ed.) 2020. It’s Okay to Cry - Discussions by the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum [LAREF], Volume V. Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, DC.

This is the 5th volume of selected discussions that took place on the electronic Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum between February 2016 and December 2019. The forum was created in October 2002; it allows...