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. 
Nørgaard, S. A., Sand, F. B., Sørensen, D. B. et al. 2018. Softened food reduces weight loss in the streptozotocin-induced male mouse model of diabetic nephropathy. Laboratory Animals 52(4), 373-383.

The streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mouse is a widely used model of diabetes and diabetic nephropathy (DN). However, it is a well-known issue that this model is challenged by high weight loss, which despite supportive measures...

Hershey, J. D., Gifford, J. J., Zizza, L. J. et al. 2018. Effects of various cleaning agents on the performance of mice in behavioral assays of anxiety. JAALAS 57(4), 335-339.

Cleaning behavioral equipment between rodent subjects is important to prevent disease transmission and reduce odor cues from previous subjects. However, the reporting regarding the cleansing procedures used during such experiments is sporadic and often incomplete...

Brochu, C. P., Winnicker, C. L., Provencher, A. L. et al. 2018. Effects of nesting material on the toxicologic assessment of cyclophosphamide in Crl:CD1(ICR) mice. JAALAS 57(4), 340-349.

The provision of nesting material benefits mice by reducing cold stress, improving feed conversion, increasing litter size, and improving adaptive immunity. The effects of toxins are sensitive to environmental changes, and the introduction of novel...

Doerning, C. M., Burlingame, L. A., Lewis, A. G. et al. 2018. Refinement of perioperative feeding in a mouse model of vertical sleeve gastrectomy. JAALAS 57(3), 295-301.

Provision of liquid enteral nutrition (LEN) during the perioperative period is standard practice for rodents undergoing bariatric surgery, yet these diets are associated with several challenges, including coagulation of the liquid diet within the delivery...

Robinson-Junker, A. L., O'hara, B. F., Gaskill, B. N. 2018. Out like a light? The effects of a diurnal husbandry schedule on mouse sleep and behavior. JAALAS 57(2), 124-133.

Sleep disruption in humans, caused by shift work, can be detrimental to physical and behavioral health. Nocturnal laboratory mice may experience a similar disruption caused by human daytime activities, but whether this disruption affects their...

Eichner, M., Purcell, J. E., Fortman, J. D. 2018. Effects of intracage ammonia on markers of pulmonary endothelial integrity in mice housed in static microisolation cages. JAALAS 57(1), 18-23.

Time-weighted exposure limits to ammonia are established for humans; however similar guidelines have not been defined for laboratory rodents. The Guide recommends maintaining air pollutants at concentrations below levels irritating to mucous membranes but does...

Hawkins, P., McBride, A., Paiba, G. et al. 2018. Report of the 2017 RSPCA/UFAW Rodent and Rabbit Welfare Group meeting. Animal Technology and Welfare 17(2), 75-83. [Meeting Report]

The RSPCA/UFAW Rodent (and now Rabbit) Welfare Group held a one-day meeting on 14 November 2017 in Weybridge, UK. The first session addressed meeting animals' needs and aiming for a 'good life', with the needs...

Zomeño, C., Birolo, M., Gratta, F. et al. 2018. Effects of group housing system, pen floor type, and lactation management on performance and behaviour in rabbit does. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 203, 55-63.

This work aimed at evaluating the effects of housing system, pen floor type, and lactation management on rabbit doe and kit performance throughout a reproductive cycle, including categorization of aggressiveness and injuries. Forty multiparous pregnant...

Bailoo, J. D., Murphy, E., Varholick, J. A. et al. 2018. Evaluation of the effects of space allowance on measures of animal welfare in laboratory mice. Scientific Reports 8, 713.

We studied how space allowance affects measures of animal welfare in mice by systematically varying group size and cage type across three levels each in both males and females of two strains of mice (C57BL/6ByJ...

Clay, A. W., Crane, M., Merino, R. et al. 2018. Management of weight and body condition for captive adult and aging chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). American Journal of Primatology 80(S1), 33 (40th Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists Scientific Program, Abstract #66).

With the goal of finding a practical way to improve and/or maintain the body condition of overweight chimpanzees to promote health and welfare, several feeding protocols’ effects on chimpanzee body condition scores (BCS) were evaluated...

Garner, A. M., Norton, J. N., Kinard, W. L., et al. 2018. Vibration-induced behavioral responses and response threshold in female C57BL/6 mice. JAALAS 57(5), 447–455.

Despite documented adverse effects, limits for rodent exposure to vibration in the laboratory animal facility have not been established. This study used female C57BL/6 mice to determine the frequencies of vibration at which mice were...

Trindade Madeira Araújo, F., de Cássia Espírito Santo, L., Peixoto Teixeira, A. C. et al. 2018. Low welfare impact of noise: Assessment in an experimental model of mice infected by Herpes simplex-1. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 207, 79-88.

The breeding practices adopted and the equipment typically found in animal facilities produce sounds at frequencies within the auditory range of the mice (1 to 100 kHz), which can cause hearing and other non-hearing effects...

Paronis, E., Kapogiannatou, A., Paschidis, K. et al. 2018. Lighting environment: What colour of light do male C57BL/6J prefer? Applied Animal Behaviour Science 209, 99-103.

Environmental factors applied in animal research facilities need to be regulated accurately not only for the welfare of laboratory animals but also for the reliability of the experimental results. However, the effect of lighting environment...

Neely, C., Lane, C., Torres, J. et al. 2018. The effect of gentle handling on depressive-like behavior in adult male mice: Considerations for human and rodent interactions in the laboratory. Behavioural Neurology 2018, 2976014.

Environmental factors play a significant role in well-being of laboratory animals. Regulations and guidelines recommend, if not require, that stressors such as bright lighting, smells, and noises are eliminated or reduced to maximize animal well-being...

Clay, A. W., Bard, K. A., Bloomsmith, M. A. 2018. Effects of sex and early rearing condition on adult behavior, health, and well-being in captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Behavioural Processes 156, 58-76.

Scientific evaluation of management strategies for captive species is part of the establishment of best practices for animal welfare. Here we report the effects of sex, rearing, and a sex-by-rearing interaction on adult, captive chimpanzees’...

McMahen, R., Williams, A. 2018. An easy way to trim guinea pig nails. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 6(2) (June), 39-40.

Here, we provide a few easy steps on how to trim guinea pigs’ nails.

Wilson, L. A., Miller, J. J., Work, R. K. et al. 2018. Novel diet regimen for rabbits in a compromised oral wound healing study. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 6(1) (March), 49-51.

Rabbits are known to be finicky about food and will reject it based upon several factors: odor, texture, form, or method of presentation. It can be an even greater challenge to get rabbits to eat...

Gut, W., Crump, L., Zinsstag, J. et al. 2018. The effect of human interaction on guinea pig behavior in animal-assisted therapy. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 25, 56-64.

Guinea pigs are included in various animal-assisted interventions (AAIs), but no research has been published to date on behavioral changes in guinea pigs interacting with humans. The goal of this study was to evaluate the...

Hawkins, P., Golledge, H. D. R. 2018. The 9 to 5 Rodent − Time for Change? Scientific and animal welfare implications of circadian and light effects on laboratory mice and rats. Journal of Neuroscience Methods 300, 20-25.

Rodents, particularly rats and mice, are the most commonly used laboratory animals and are extensively used in neuroscience research, including as translational models for human disorders. It is common practice to carry out scientific procedures...

Cronin, K. A., Bethell, E. J., Jacobson, S. L. et al. 2018. Evaluating mood changes in response to anthropogenic noise with a response-slowing task in three species of zoo-housed primates. Animal Behavior and Cognition 5(2), 209–221.

In the zoo environment, anthropogenic noise is common as sound levels fluctuate due to visitors, construction, habitat design, and special events. In this study, changes in the mood of three species of zoo-housed primates in...

Sommerville, R., Ruiz, R., Averós, X. 2017. A meta-analysis on the effects of the housing environment on the behaviour, mortality, and performance of growing rabbits. Animal Welfare 26(2), 223-238.

Although the number of rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) produced in Europe is important, they are under-represented in welfare research. Studies on the effects of housing conditions have focused on performance and mortality. We conducted a meta-analysis...

Freymann, J., Tsai, P.-P., Stelzer, H. D. et al. 2017. Impact of bedding volume on physiological and behavioural parameters in laboratory mice. Laboratory Animals 51(6), 601-612.

The standard housing temperature in animal facilities is substantially below the lower critical temperature of mice. This does not only endanger animal welfare, it can also jeopardize scientific research as cold stress has a major...

Robinson-Junker, A., Morin, A., Pritchett-Corning, K. et al. 2017. Sorting it out: Bedding particle size and nesting material processing method affect nest complexity. Laboratory Animals 51(2), 170-180.

As part of routine husbandry, an increasing number of laboratory mice receive nesting material in addition to standard bedding material in their cages. Nesting material improves health outcomes and physiological performance in mice that receive...

Mogil, J. S. 2017. Laboratory environmental factors and pain behavior: The relevance of unknown unknowns to reproducibility and translation. Lab Animal 46(4), 136-141.

The poor record of basic-to-clinical translation in recent decades has led to speculation that preclinical research is “irreproducible”, and this irreproducibility in turn has largely been attributed to deficiencies in reporting and statistical practices. There...

Gaskill, B. N., Stottler, A. M., Garner, J. P. et al. 2017. The effect of early life experience, environment, and genetic factors on spontaneous home-cage aggression-related wounding in male C57BL/6 mice. Lab Animal 46(4), 176-184.

Aggression is a major welfare issue in mice, particularly when mice unfamiliar to each other are first placed in cages, as happens on receipt from a vendor, and following cage cleaning. Injuries from aggression are...