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. 
Bozzay, J. D., Walker, P. F., Atwood, R. E. et al. 2023. Development, refinement, and characterization of a nonhuman primate critical care environment. PLOS ONE 18(3), e0281548.

Systemic inflammatory response remains a poorly understood cause of morbidity and mortality after traumatic injury. Recent nonhuman primate (NHP) trauma models have been used to characterize the systemic response to trauma, but none have incorporated...

Peruga, M., Kawala, B., Sarul, M. et al. 2023. Are currently selected laboratory animals useful in the research of how female hormones influence orthodontic biomechanics? Animals 13(4), 629.

Animal testing was and remains the only method of introducing a certain treatment and medical procedure on humans. On the other hand, animals have their rights resulting from applicable legal acts, including Directive 2010/63/EU and...

Schneidewind, S. J., Meemken, D., Langforth, S. 2023. Measures and penalties for animal welfare violations at german abattoirs: A compilation of current recommendations and practices. Animals 13(18), 2916.

Protecting animal welfare during preslaughter handling and slaughter is an important ethical concern with growing importance to consumers. However, animal welfare violations in abattoirs remain a serious problem, and the enforcement of relevant laws and...

de Castro Lippi, I. C., Caldara, F. R., de Lima Almeida Paz, I. C. et al. 2022. Global and Brazilian scenario of guidelines and legislation on welfare in pig farming. Animals 12(19), 2615.

The evolution of scientific knowledge regarding animal sentience, together with the growing concerns of consumers regarding current production models, has brought with it the responsibility of reviewing many practices carried out in industrial swine farming...

Kulyar, M. F.-A., Ashfaq, K., Aqib, A. I. et al. 2022. Enhanced healing activity of manuka honey and nitrofurazone composite in full-thickness burn wounds in the rabbit model. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 9, 875629.

Burns cause many significant changes in metabolism and inflammatory reactions, leading to poor regeneration in animals and humans. A list of medicines to treat burns is available in the market. But due to the high...

Leeds, A., Boyer, D., Ross, S. R. et al. 2021. Patterns of wounding in mixed-sex social groups of western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 236, 105226.

Long-term, multi-institutional assessments have become a reliable tool for evaluating patterns of wounding in zoo-living primates, with results informing on best practices for species-specific care protocols and population management strategies. For western lowland gorillas (Gorilla...

Lagoda, M. E., Boyle, L. A., Marchewka, J. et al. 2021. Early detection of locomotion disorders in gilts using a novel visual analogue scale; associations with chronic stress and reproduction. Animals 11(10), 2900.

Locomotion scoring is crucial for the early detection of lameness, which reduces sow welfare and performance. Our objective was to test the effectiveness of a visual analogue scale (VAS) to measure locomotory ability (OVERALL) compared...

Ferrari, P., Ulrici, A., Barbari, M. 2021. Analysis of housing risk factors for the welfare of lean and heavy pigs in a sample of European fattening farms. Animals 11(11), 3221.

Pig welfare is affected by housing conditions, the minimum requirements of which are set up by EU legislation. Animal and non-animal-based measures are useful indicators to investigate housing risk factors for pig welfare. An observational...

Schodl, K., Wiesauer, L., Winckler, C. et al. 2021. Reduced stocking density and provision of straw in a rack improve pig welfare on commercial fattening farms. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 8, 656211.

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of reduced stocking density in combination with provision of additional enrichment material on pig welfare on-farm. On three growing-finishing farms in Austria, in total 974...

Chou, J.-Y., D’Eath, R. B., Sandercock, D. A. et al. 2020. Enrichment use in finishing pigs and its relationship with damaging behaviours: Comparing three wood species and a rubber floor toy. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 224, 104944.

Environmental enrichment in pig housing is a legal requirement under current EU legislation, but some recommended loose materials may cause obstructions in fully-slatted systems. Wood is an organic material that could be compatible with slatted...

Kobek-Kjeldager, C., Moustsen, V. A., Theil, P. K. et al. 2020. Effect of litter size, milk replacer and housing on behaviour and welfare related to sibling competition in litters from hyper-prolific sows. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 230, 105032.

Litter sizes where piglets are supernumerary to teats leads to the practice of fostering to nurse sows or to artificial rearing systems, which is associated with compromised welfare. An alternative strategy is to leave the...

Harper, S. B., Bayne, K., Anderson, K. E. 2020. High-containment agriculture animal research: An AAALAC International perspective. ILAR Journal 61(1), 10-17.

Institutions that conduct high-containment agricultural research involving domestic livestock represent a specialized category of programs that are accredited by AAALAC International. The accreditation process includes a comprehensive assessment of the overall program of animal care...

Colman, R. J., Capuano, 3rd, S., Bakker, J. et al. 2021. Marmosets: Welfare, ethical use, and IACUC/regulatory considerations. ILAR Journal 61(2-3), 167-178.

Use of marmosets in biomedical research has increased dramatically in recent years due, in large part, to their suitability for transgenic applications and utility as models for neuroscience investigations. This increased use includes the establishment...

Nawroth, C., Gygax, L. 2020. The legislative, ethical, and conceptual importance of replicability in farm animal welfare science. agriRxiv 2020, 20203211980.

In this commentary, we discuss three replicability issues that are specifically relevant to research regarding farm animal welfare: (1) Legislative action, and its potential economic consequences, should derive from robust and replicable research to benefit...

Nalon, E., De Briyne, N. 2019. Efforts to ban the routine tail docking of pigs and to give pigs enrichment materials via EU Law: Where do we stand a quarter of a century on? Animals 9(4), 132.

In its role as guardian of the Treaties, the European Commission must ensure that Member States enforce EU law within their territories. If adequate enforcement is found to be wanting, the Commission also has the...

Wallgren, T., Larsen, A., Lundeheim, N. et al. 2019. Implication and impact of straw provision on behaviour, lesions and pen hygiene on commercial farms rearing undocked pigs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 210, 26-37.

According to the European Union Council Directive 2008/120EC, measures to minimise the risk for tail biting shall be taken before practicing tail docking, e.g. provision of manipulable material. Still, >90% of the pigs within EU...

Naya, A., Traulsen, I., Gertz, M. et al. 2019. Is tail biting in growing pigs reduced by a prolonged suckling period? Applied Animal Behaviour Science 211, 41-46.

It was the aim of the study to investigate the effect of a prolonged suckling period and group housing before weaning on tail biting in undocked nursery pigs. To do this, experiments with three treatment...

Bill, J., Rauterberg, S. L., Stracke, J. et al. 2019. Prevalence and severity of tail lesions as a possible welfare indicator for rabbit does. Animal Welfare 28(4), 511-518.

The impact of behavioural disorders on animal welfare in modern animal husbandry has been much debated. While other abnormal behaviours have been explored at length, there are a paucity of studies on tail-biting in rabbits...

Larsen, M. L. V., Pedersen, L. J., Jensen, D. B. 2019. Prediction of tail biting events in finisher pigs from automatically recorded sensor data. Animals 9(7), 458.

Tail biting in pigs is an animal welfare problem, and tail biting should be prevented from developing into tail damage. One strategy could be to predict events of tail biting so that the farmer can...

Chou, J.-Y., O'Driscoll, K., D'Eath, R. B. et al. 2019. Multi-step tail biting outbreak intervention protocols for pigs housed on slatted floors. Animals 9(8), 582.

Solutions are needed to keep pigs under commercial conditions without tail biting outbreaks (TBOs). However, as TBOs are inevitable, even in well managed farms, it is crucial to know how to manage TBOs when they...

Wallgren, T., Lundeheim, N., Wallenbeck, A. et al. 2019. Rearing pigs with intact tails—Experiences and practical solutions in Sweden. Animals 9(10), 812.

Tail biting is a common issue within commercial pig production. It is mainly an indicator of inadequate housing environment and results in reduced health welfare and production. To reduce the impact of tail biting, pigs...

Buijs, S., Muns, R. 2019. A review of the effects of non-straw enrichment on tail biting in pigs. Animals 9(10), 824.

Tail biting remains a common problem in pig production. As producers are reluctant to use straw to reduce this behaviour, we review studies on the effectiveness of other types of enrichment. Roughage, hessian sacks, compost...

Gentz, M., Lange, A., Zeidler, S. et al. 2019. Classification of pigs with tail lesions from different farrowing and rearing systems during rearing and fattening period. Animals 9(11), 949.

The aim of the present study was to classify and characterise pigs with tail lesions using a combined parameter based on the frequency and duration of tail lesions and to find out whether biologically relevant...

Rifkin, R. E., Grzeskowiak, R. M., Mulon, P-Y. et al. 2019. Use of a pressure-sensing walkway system for biometric assessment of gait characteristics in goats. PLOS ONE 14(10), e0223771.

The purpose of this study was to quantitatively assess gait characteristics and weight-bearing forces during ambulation in goats free of lameness using a pressure-sensing walkway as a biometric tool for stride, gait, and force analysis...

Gill, M. 2019. The Monkey Business and the UK: To what extent does EU and UK legislation protect long-tailed macaques bred in overseas farms but used for experiments in the UK. Canopy 20(1), 29-34.

Every year around 3,000 long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) are imported into the UK to satisfy the needs of pharmaceutical contract research organisations (CROs). CITES, and many NGOs suggest that the demand for macaques used globally...