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. 
Perlman, J. E., Chace, K. E., Jordan, J. et al. 2017. High-density polyethylene artificial turf is a durable foraging substrate for rhesus macaques. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 5(4) (December), 40-43.

In the wild, rhesus monkeys and other macaque species spend a majority of their waking hours searching for and eating food. For monkeys housed in runs and in caged settings, making species-typical foraging tasks available...

Sands, C., Evans, C., Buckmaster, C. A. 2017. The grooming sleeve: Encouraging conspecific-like behavior and strengthening the human-animal bond. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 5(2) (June), 52-53.

The act of grooming has been found to greatly decrease stress, heart rate, and cortisol levels in nonhuman primates; this decrease in stress and cortisol is seen in the animal being groomed, as well as...

Cavallaro, J., Stevens Jr., R. W., Wilson, B. et al. 2017. Social housing pig tail macaques in repurposed chimpanzee enclosures. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 5(2) (June), 60-61.

As chimpanzees are retired from research, enclosures such as the Primadomes™ become available for repurposing for other monkey species. However, modifications are necessary to meet specific monkey species needs, and considerations for animal handling and...

Dupont, M. 2017. An investigation into whether food-based environmental enrichment will increase the activity levels of Alaotran gentle lemurs (Hapalemur alaotrensis) at Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park. RATEL (Journal of the Association of British and Irish Wild Animal Keepers) 44(1), 14-17.

Excessive weight gain and obesity is becoming a more frequent problem affecting captive lemurs. Animals have evolved to survive in specific environments, causing them to perform species-specific behaviours which animals are highly motivated to perform...

Roth, T. S., Bionda, T. R., Sterck, E. H. M. 2017. Recapturing the canopy: Stimulating Bornean orang-utan (Pongo pygmaeus) natural locomotion behaviour in a zoo environment. Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research 5(1), 16-24.

Orang-utans are the largest mainly arboreal animal: wild orang-utans rarely come to the forest floor. In contrast, the locomotion behaviour of captive orang-utans encompasses more time on the ground and they spend less time on...

de Groot, B., Cheyne, S. M. 2016. Does mirror enrichment improve primate well-being? Animal Welfare 25(2), 163-170.

Primates are highly social animals and appropriate enrichment is required to ensure their psychological well-being. Mirrors are sometimes used as social or sensory environmental enrichment. In this paper we investigate the suitability of mirrors as...

Martín, O., Vinyoles, D., García-Galea, E. et al. 2016. Improving the welfare of a zoo-housed male drill (Mandrillus leucophaeus poensis) aggressive toward visitors. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 19(4), 323-334.

Improving the welfare of nonhuman animals in captivity and maintaining behavioral competence for future conservation purposes is of the highest priority for zoos. The behavior of an aggressive male drill (Mandrillus leucophaeus poensis) was assessed...

Cannon, T. H., Heistermann, M., Hankison, S. J. et al. 2016. Tailored enrichment strategies and stereotypic behavior in captive individually housed macaques (Macaca spp.). Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 19(2), 171-182.

The welfare of nonhuman animals in captivity is widely dependent on the natural psychological, physical, and behavioral needs of the animals and how adequately these needs are met. Inability to engage in natural behaviors can...

Bennett, A. J., Perkins, C. M., Tenpas, P. D. et al. 2016. Moving evidence into practice: Cost analysis and assessment of Macaques' sustained behavioral engagement with videogames and foraging devices. American Journal of Primatology 78(12), 1250-1264.

Environmental enrichment plans for captive nonhuman primates often include provision of foraging devices. The rationale for using foraging devices is to promote species‐typical activity patterns that encourage physical engagement and provide multi‐sensory stimulation. However, these...

Sakuraba, Y., Tomonaga, M., Hayashi, M. 2016. A new method of walking rehabilitation using cognitive tasks in an adult chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) with a disability: A case study. Primates 57(3), 403-412.

There are few studies of long-term care and rehabilitation of animals which acquired physical disabilities in captivity, despite their importance for welfare. An adult male chimpanzee named Reo at the Primate Research Institute of Kyoto...

Hooper, J. 2016. An assessment of enrichment strategies for sanctuary housed spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi). Canopy 17(1), 14-16.

From May- July 2014, I conducted research within a private spider monkey sanctuary, Ecoparque el Fenix, in Campeche, Mexico, home to 20 spider monkeys obtained from the illegal pet trade. Limited financial resources had resulted...

Brooker, J. S. 2016. An investigation of the auditory perception of western lowland gorillas in an enrichment study. Zoo Biology 35(5), 398-408.

Previous research has highlighted the varied effects of auditory enrichment on different captive animals. This study investigated how manipulating musical components can influence the behavior of a group of captive western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla...

Hooper, L. M., Shender, M. A., Ross, S. R. 2016. Behavioral research as physical enrichment for captive chimpanzees. Zoo Biology 34(4), 293-297.

In this study, we evaluated the potential for a behavioral research study, designed to evaluate chimpanzee decision‐making behavior, to also encourage increased activity in a group of zoo‐housed chimpanzees. For the behavioral study, the chimpanzees...

Enser, S. 2016. Comparison of housing and welfare of group housed rabbits. Animal Technology and Welfare 15(1), 77-79.

This poster is based on welfare improvements gained from group housing rabbits in floor pens in the new Antibody Production Facility with a focus on development, behaviours and environmental enrichment in both male and female...

O'Keefe, S. 2016. Non-human primate housing facility at Newcastle University. Animal Technology and Welfare 15(2), 131-132.

Monkeys first arrived in the Comparative Biology Centre (CBC) at Newcastle University in 2000. They were housed in three small separate units consisting of steel and wooden cages. In 2011 a decision was made to...

Battilocchi, M., Fulcher, G., Windsor, Z. et al. 2016. Innovative enrichment for the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus). Animal Technology and Welfare 15(2), 136-137.

As part of the enrichment programme at King’s College London (KCL) and in keeping with the guidelines of Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act, 1986 (ASPA) and the 3R’s (Russell and Burch), technologists have taken an active...

Nahallage, C. A. D., Leca, J.-B., Huffman, M. A. 2016. Stone handling, an object play behaviour in macaques: Welfare and neurological health implications of a bio-culturally driven tradition. Behaviour, 153(6-7), 845-869.

Object play in primates is viewed as generally having no immediate functional purpose, limited for the most part to immature individuals. At the proximate level, the occurrence of object play in immatures is regarded as...

Kim-McCormack, N. N. E., Smith, C. L., Behie, A. M. 2016. Is interactive technology a relevant and effective enrichment for captive great apes? Applied Animal Behaviour Science 185, 1-8.

All non-human great apes are endangered, and for these animals, captive individuals play an important role in the species’ conservation management plan. Therefore, information about their current enrichment activities is essential for maintaining a healthy...

Bozicovich, T. F. M., Moura, A. S. A. M. T., Fernandes, S. et al. 2016. Effect of environmental enrichment and composition of the social group on the behavior, welfare, and relative brain weight of growing rabbits. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 182, 72-79.

The objective of the study was to investigate if environmental enrichment and the composition of the social group would affect the behavior and relative brain weight of growing rabbits. Rabbits (72 males and 72 females)...

Stevens, T. 2016. Biscuit feeder increases foraging in baboons and reduces biscuit waste. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 4(3) (September), 54-55.

At the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Department of Comparative Medicine, we have a large captive colony of Olive Baboons (Papio anubis). Environmental enhancement is an integral part of the Comparative Medicine Baboon Research...

Winnicker, C., Gaskill, B., Garner, J. P. et al. 2016. A Guide to the Behavior & Enrichment of Laboratory Rodents. Charles River Laboratories.

Covering species-typical behavior as well as abnormal/malfunctional behavior and stereotypes observed in mice, rats, hamsters and gerbils, this is an excellent resource for those looking to implement or enhance an existing behavioral husbandry and enrichment...

Yamanashi, Y., Matsunaga, M., Shimada, K. et al. 2016. Introducing tool-based feeders to zoo-housed chimpanzees as a cognitive challenge: Spontaneous acquisition of new types of tool use and effects on behaviours and use of space. Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research 4(3), 147-155.

Cognitively challenging environments are vital to the welfare of captive animals. However, practical enrichment devices that can facilitate animals’ natural behaviours and accommodate individual variation are still limited. We created two types of feeders to...

Ritvo, S. E., MacDonald, S. E. 2016. Music as enrichment for Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii). Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research 4(3), 156-163.

Music is commonly employed as auditory enrichment in NHP facilities under the assumption that music is as enriching for NHPs as it is for humans (Hinds et al., 2007; Lutz & Novak, 2005). The purpose...

Leeds, A., Elsner, R., Lukas, K. 2016. The effect of positive reinforcement training on an adult female western lowland gorilla’s (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) rate of abnormal and aggressive behavior. Animal Behavior and Cognition 3(2), 78–87.

Positive reinforcement training (PRT) has become a widely used tool in improving the ease with which husbandry and veterinary procedures are performed for animals under human care. PRT provides positive social interaction, cognitive stimulation, and...

Crast, J., Bloomsmith, M. A., Jonesteller, T. 2015. Effects of changing housing conditions on mangabey behavior (Cercocebus atys): Spatial density, housing quality, and novelty effects. American Journal of Primatology 77(9), 1001-1014.

The separate influences of spatial density and housing quality on the behavior of captive animals are difficult to measure because the two factors are often intrinsically linked. Here, we recorded affiliative and agonistic behavior in...