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. 

A survey of selected enrichment programs for group-housed marmosets. Older individuals ... appear to habituate themselves less to the presence of visitors, and get very agitated when approached. ... High perches should be provided to...

A device was designed that allows us to blow forage [e.g., chicken scratch] into both empty and occupied cages and over a wide area.

Several simple feeding enrichment devices, including a herb garden, are described.

Adding a simple cow bell can increase use of vertical climbing poles and may have resulted in increased locomotor activity for [group-housed] captive chimpanzees. These data were collected in 1996/97 and the cow bells are...

The device consists of food treats ... mixed with shredded paper and stuffed into a 4 foot long section of cardboard tube which is cut into 4-inch lengths.

The objective of toxicology and pharmacology studies is to detect change or variation from normal and to interpret the significance of such change, with the intention of assessing risk to man. With non-human primates (NHPs)...

The purpose of this study was to link abnormal behaviors often expressed by chimpanzees living in captive environments to factors related to their care and housing. Individuals who had spent more time with their mothers...

Enrichment of the environments of captive primates is currently of interest as both a basic and an applied research question, particularly when social and inanimate enhancements are used simultaneously. We measured the hehavioural effects of...

There is a growing awareness that non-human primates kept in zoos and laboratories deserve more species-appropriate stimulation because of their biological adaptation to a challenging environment. Numerous attempts have been made to effectively emulate the...

Practical recommendations to address five basic characteristics of Old World primates in the laboratory setting: a) social disposition, b) semi-arboreal lifestyle, c) complex living environment, d) intelligence, e) sensitivity to distress.

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...

The purpose of this study is to consider space use patterns of a single group of captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) housed in an indoor exhibit at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. This report summarizes results from...

Brief but very useful guidelines of how an enrichment program can most effectively be developed and implemented. Care and research staff ideas are well-thought out prior to use of any new devices, and all staff...

Results suggest a preference for horizontal furnishings above the enclosure floor. Adults infrequently used 'moving' furnishings (e.g., swinging ropes, hanging tubes, etc...) and seemed to prefer 'stable' horizontal furnishings (e.g., benches, logs) above the enclosure...

Caretakers should seek knowledge of the natural lifestyles of the primates in their charge, and attempt to reproduce in the captive environment the salient aspects of the natural habitats that are biologically relevant to the...

According to the Swiss Animal Welfare Legislation, the minimal enclosure area for macaques of the size of rhesus or cynomolgus monkeys for experimental purposes is 15 cubic meters. In such an enclosure up to 5...

Enrichment techniques designed to encourage captive primates to spend more species-appropriate amounts of time in foraging behaviours have been successful. The present study measured the behavioural effects of four feeding enhancements: two devices (mats and...

The aquarium [with a single goldfish] was attached to the outside of the chimpanzee's cage ... so that the single-caged subject was able to touch the aquarium but not the fish itself. At the conclusion...

Eight baboon groups (Papio sp.) were observed for over one hundred scan samples both before and after the provision of structural enrichment. Additions to their home-cage included a galvanized ladder suspended horizontally by chains and...

The response of four singly caged baboons to radio music was measured using behavioral and physiological indices. Heart rate and blood pressure, measured through a tether system, as well as behavior, were recorded during a...

Giving captive animals the opportunity to interact with objects in a “playful” manner is often considered a method of environmental enrichment. However, the occurrence of play in nonavian reptiles is controversial and poorly documented. Similarly...

Simple bamboo pipe feeder is described and tested in group-housed animals. The aim of the study was to [successfully] increase foraging time with an increasing number of feeding devices [brawn bowl, bamboo pipe]. ... Prior...

Results show that the feeding board [on which seeds were scattered] were almost always in use [during 30-minute observations]. ... There was no evidence that the position in which the feeding board was placed [high...

Our laboratory, a short time after the introduction of woodchip, became infested with domestic mice. ... We decided to adequate the original idea changing woodchip with argilla espansa ... a material that is used in...

Environmental improvements include construction of large indoor cages that allow pairing of experimental animals, a grass-covered 'playground' for breeding chimpanzee groups, and indoor/outdoor group housing for 'retired' experimental animals. In addition, we provide toys, perches...