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. 
Matrai, E., Chan, H. Y. A., Leung, F. M. et al. 2023. Point for enrichment, point for welfare—Testing use of a laser pointer with Arapaima gigas. Animals 13(8), 1370.

The arapaima (Arapaima gigas) is one of the largest freshwater fish species, known to exceed 3 m in total length. It is listed as Data Deficient by the IUCN. A. gigas is native to the...

Rucinque, D. S., van de Vis, H., Reimert, H. et al. 2023. Pre-slaughter stunning of farmed Atlantic halibut in CO2-saturated seawater: Assessment of unconsciousness by electroencephalography (EEG). Animals 13(12), 1993.

As fish welfare becomes a growing concern, it is important to ensure humane treatment during slaughter. This study aimed to assess the onset of unconsciousness in Atlantic halibut immersed in CO2-saturated seawater through electroencephalography (EEG)...

Costa, S., Neves, J., Tirá, G. et al. 2023. Predatory responses and feeding behaviour of three Elasmobranch species in an aquarium setting. Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens 4(4), 775–787.

Many progressive aquariums worldwide house various elasmobranch species as part of their commitment to conservation awareness and the long-term well-being of these creatures. These aquariums face the challenge of enabling these natural predators to live...

Brereton, J., Rose, P. 2022. An evaluation of the role of 'biological evidence' in zoo and aquarium enrichment practices. Animal Welfare 31(1), 13-26.

Evidence-based approaches are key to advancing all areas of zoo and aquarium practice. Output from empirical study must be disseminated to those within the industry so that results can support changes to husbandry and management...

Fehrenbach, L. A., Adekanye, A. A., Palillo, M. B. et al. 2022. Internal temperatures of packaging for overnight cross-country shipping of zebrafish (Danio rerio). Comparative Medicine 72(3), 195-203.

As the use of zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a research model continues to rise, so too will the shipping and sharing of zebrafish strains across collaborating institutions. If done incorrectly, shipping can result in significant...

Marques Maia, C., Volpato, G. L., Braithwaite, V. A. 2022. A psychological aversive condition does not change individual zebrafish preference for background color or artificial plant enrichments. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 25(4), 427-438.

Information on fish preference for environmental conditions can be a useful tool to offer them what they want, an important requirement for welfare purposes. Giving that such an approach deals with psychological states of the...

Hepps Keeney, C., Harrison, T. M. 2022. Euthanasia complications in non-domestic species. Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens 3(4), 616–623.

There are very few studies describing euthanasia complications in non-domestic species. The goal of this study was to survey veterinarians to determine what complications may commonly occur during the euthanasia of non-domestic species. An online...

Whitbread, S. 2022. Some observations on the use of transparent barriers. RATEL (Journal of the Association of British and Irish Wild Animal Keepers) 49(3), 9-13.

What follows are some case studies in which solid but transparent barriers have been used successfully to provide a sense of security to three different mammal taxa (three-banded armadillo; Kirk’s dikdik; black rat) to reduce...

Alnes, I. B., Jensen, K. H., Skorping, A. et al. 2021. Ontogenetic change in behavioral responses to structural enrichment from fry to parr in juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.). Frontiers in Veterinary Science 8, 638888.

Enrichment is widely used as a tool for studying how changes in environment affect animal behavior. Here, we report an experimental study investigating if behaviors shaped by stimuli from environmental enrichment depending on the stage...

Brandão, M. L., Dorigão-Guimarães, F., Bolognesi, M. C. et al. 2021. Understanding behaviour to improve the welfare of an ornamental fish. Journal of Fish Biology 99(3), 726-739.

Some common practices in aquaculture, ornamental trade and fish facilities may disturb the behavioural repertoire of fish and its natural adaptive value, reducing welfare and impairing fish production. Hence, it is necessary to understand fish...

Monreal-Pawlowsky, T., Vaicekauskaitė , R., Palencia Membrive, G. et al. 2021. Goal-oriented behavioural and environmental enrichment in aquarium species. Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research, 9(4), 273-280.

Environmental enrichment is a common tool used in zoo and aquarium settings to provide mental and physical stimulation to animals under human care. This paper aims to present a primary approach to goal-oriented environmental and...

Janhunen, M., Piironen, J., Vainikka, A. et al. 2021. The effects of environmental enrichment on hatchery-performance, smolt migration and capture rates in landlocked Atlantic salmon. PLOS ONE 16(12), e0260944.

Enrichment of rearing environment with natural elements has been suggested to improve the welfare and post-release survival of cultured fish. We studied the combined effects of shelter structures, periodical water flow and water level changes...

da Silva, A., Lima, M. R., Meletti, P. C. et al. 2020. Impact of environmental enrichment and social group size in the aggressiveness and foraging activity of Serrapinnus notomelas. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 224, 104943.

Fish are widely used in scientific research, and many species are bred for ornamental purposes and human consumption. Despite the large number of fish kept in captivity, research on the welfare of these animals has...

Petrović, T. G., Vučić, T. Z., Nikolić, S. Z. et al. 2020. The effect of shelter on oxidative stress and aggressive behavior in crested newt larvae (Triturus spp.). Animals 10(4), 603.

Shelters are important for animal survival. Provision of adequate hiding places allow animals to express their natural sheltering behavior and it can have different positive effects on cortisol levels, physiological processes and mental performance. Although...

Chu, D. 2020. Malawi cichlids: A colorful 4th R story. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 8(3) (May/June), 24-25.

This article describes the successful rehoming of 60 Malawi cichlids from a vivarium at Stanford University to San Diego Zoo and the California Academy of Sciences.

Arechavala-Lopez, P., Caballero-Froilán, J. C., Jiménez-García, M. et al. 2020. Enriched environments enhance cognition, exploratory behaviour and brain physiological functions of Sparus aurata. Scientific Reports 10, 11252.

Environmental enrichment is considered as a recommended tool to guarantee or improve the welfare of captive fish. This study demonstrates for the first time that structural environmental enrichment enhances cognition, exploratory behaviour and brain physiological...

Alligood, C. A., Dorey, N. R., Mehrkam, L. R. et al. 2017. Applying behavior-analytic methodology to the science and practice of environmental enrichment in zoos and aquariums. Zoo Biology 36(3), 175–185.

Environmental enrichment in zoos and aquariums is often evaluated at two overlapping levels: published research and day‐to‐day institutional record keeping. Several authors have discussed ongoing challenges with small sample sizes in between‐groups zoological research and...

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...