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. 
Green, A., Clark, C., Favaro, L. et al. 2019. Vocal individuality of Holstein-Friesian cattle is maintained across putatively positive and negative farming contexts. Scientific Reports 9, 18468.

Cattle mother-offspring contact calls encode individual-identity information; however, it is unknown whether cattle are able to maintain individuality when vocalising to familiar conspecifics over other positively and negatively valenced farming contexts. Accordingly, we recorded 333...

Scott, N. L., LaDue, C. A. 2019. The behavioral effects of exhibit size versus complexity in African elephants: A potential solution for smaller spaces. Zoo Biology 38(5), 448-457.

Population-level analyses suggest that habitat complexity, but not necessarily space availability, has important welfare outcomes for elephants in human care. At the Dallas Zoo, the opening of a new exhibit complex allowed us to measure...

Cox, R. J., Nol, P., Ellis, C. K. et al. 2019. Research with agricultural animals and wildlife. ILAR Journal 60(1), 66-73.

In fiscal year 2016, agricultural animals such as swine, sheep, goats, and cattle represented 10% of the 820 812 animals used in USDA-regulated research. In addition to traditional agricultural animals, research studies using captive wildlife...

Sanchez-Casanova, R., Sarmiento-Franco, L., Segura-Correa, J. et al. 2019. Effects of outdoor access and indoor stocking density on behaviour and stress in broilers in the subhumid tropics. Animals 9(12), 1016.

Studies investigating the welfare of commercial-line broiler chickens raised in houses with outdoor access in the tropics are scarce, and none have investigated whether responses vary according to indoor conditions. Hence, we assessed the effects...

Hubert, S., Al-Ajeeli, M., Bailey, C. et al. 2019. The role of housing environment and dietary protein source on the gut microbiota of chicken. Animals 9(12), 1085.

The gut microbiota of chicken has received much attention due to its importance for bird health, food safety, and performance. In the United States, the impending transition to cage-free housing environments has raised many questions...

White, K. 2019. Effects of captivity on the activity budgets of lar gibbons (Hylobates lar). Canopy 20(1), 43-45.

The keeping of gibbons in a captive environment and recreating an appropriate habitat is essential to enable them to exhibit species-specific behaviour. This research was designed to provide baseline data on the activity budgets of...

Fischer, C. P., Romero, L. M. 2019. Chronic captivity stress in wild animals is highly species-specific. Conservation Physiology 7(1), coz093.

Wild animals are brought into captivity for many reasons—conservation, research, agriculture and the exotic pet trade. While the physical needs of animals are met in captivity, the conditions of confinement and exposure to humans can...

Eusemann, B. K., Baulain, U., Schrader, L. et al. 2018. Radiographic examination of keel bone damage in living laying hens of different strains kept in two housing systems. PLOS ONE 13(5), e0194974.

A high prevalence of deviations and fractures of the keel bone is a widespread welfare problem in laying hens. The aim of this study was to experimentally investigate this multifactorial problem throughout the laying period...

Jansson, D.S. 2018 Gaining insights into the health of non-caged layer hens. Veterinary Record 182(12), 347-349.

To prevent injuries and mortality in commercial non-caged laying hens a range of strategies should be used, including vaccination, effective biosecurity routines, optimal management and nutrition. Injurious pecking, footpad lesions, keel bone fractures, reproductive and...

Chen, S., Xiang, H., Zhu, X. et al. 2018. Free dietary choice and free-range rearing improve the product quality, gait score, and microbial richness of chickens. Animals 8(6), 84.

Poultry welfare has been extensively studied; however, there is a lack of rigorous scientific knowledge relating to the different aspects of welfare factors and how this may contribute to the production quantity and product quality...

Chuppava, B., Visscher, C., Kamphues, J. 2018. Effect of different flooring designs on the performance and foot pad health in broilers and turkeys. Animals 8(5), 70.

Litter quality has a significant influence on the performance and foot pad health in poultry. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of different types of flooring designs on the performance and...

Lutz, C. K., Brown, T. A. 2018. Porches as enrichment for singly housed cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis). JAALAS 57(2), 138-142.

Effective environmental enrichment is used by animals, promotes species-typical behavior, and decreases abnormal behavior. Porches attached to the front of an animal's cage provide additional space, perching opportunities, and a better view of the surroundings...

Neal Webb, S. J., Hau, J., Schapiro, S. J. 2018. Captive chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) behavior as a function of space per animal and enclosure type. American Journal of Primatology 80(2), e22749.

Space per animal, or animal density, and enclosure type are important elements of functionally appropriate captive environments (FACEs) for chimpanzees. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommends that captive chimpanzees be maintained in areas of...

Schiffmann, C., Hoby, S., Wenker, C. et al. 2018. When elephants fall asleep: A literature review on elephant rest with case studies on elephant falling bouts, andpractical solutions for zoo elephants. Zoo Biology 37(3), 133–145.

Little attention has been paid to the resting and sleeping behavior of zoo elephants so far. An important concern is when elephants avoid lying down, due to degenerative joint and foot disease, social structure, or...

Phillips, C. J. C., Farrugia, C., Lin, C.-h. et al. 2018. The effect providing space in excess of standards on the behaviour of budgerigars in aviaries. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 199, 89-93.

Budgerigars housed in conventional cages have no opportunity for some normal behaviours, in particular flight, and develop stereotyped behaviours. Increasingly aviaries are used for groups of budgerigars but the minimum space requirement to support normal...

Sirovnik, J., Stratmann, A., Gebhardt-Henrich, S. G. et al. 2018. Feeding from perches in an aviary system reduces aggression and mortality in laying hens. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 202, 53-62.

Some commercial aviary systems for laying hens allow birds to access feed by standing on perches instead of platforms. Despite reports that providing laying hens with perches relates to reduced aggression and cannibalism, and increased...

Gebhardt-Henrich, S. G., Toscano, M. J., Würbel, H. 2018. Use of aerial perches and perches on aviary tiers by broiler breeders. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 203, 24-33.

Perching, especially during the night, is an innate behaviour of chickens and the provision of perches is mandatory for laying hens in multiple countries. We examined whether broiler breeders of the fast (Ross 308) and...

Bailie, C. L., Baxter, M., O’Connell, N. E. 2018. Exploring perch provision options for commercial broiler chickens. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 200, 114-122.

Two related experiments involving broiler chickens are presented. Experiment 1 evaluated the use of six perch types: (1) an A-frame design (incorporating a platform and ramps), (2) a ‘flat top’ ramp, (3) a curved ramp...

Ekman, L., Nyman, A.-K., Landin, H. et al. 2018. Hock lesions in dairy cows in freestall herds: A cross-sectional study of prevalence and risk factors. Acta Vererinaria Scandinavica 60(1), 47.

Hock lesions (HL) in dairy cows are a common animal welfare problem in modern dairy production with freestall housing systems, but there are no large-scale studies addressing its epidemiology in Sweden. The aims of this...

Gottlieb, D. H., Del Rosso, L, Sheikhi, F. et al. 2018. Personality, environmental stressors, and diarrhea in Rhesus macaques: An interactionist perspective. American Journal of Primatology 80(12), e22908.

Previous research has repeatedly shown both personality and psychological stress to predict gastrointestinal disorders and chronic diarrhea in humans. The goal of the present research was to evaluate the role of personality, as well as...

Linden, J.B., Capitanio, J.P., McCowan, B. et al. 2018. Coping style and cortisol levels in infancy predict hair cortisol following new group formation in captive rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). American Journal of Primatology 80(12), e22938.

Social instability in primate groups has been used as a model to understand how social stress affects human populations. While it is well established that individual cercopithecines have different temperaments or personalities, little is known...

Brown, T. A., Lutz, C. K., 2018. An assessment of porches as enrichment for singly housed cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis). American Journal of Primatology 80(S1), 18 (40th Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists Scientific Program, Abstract #21).

Effective environmental enrichment encourages usage, promotes species‐typical behaviors, and/or decreases abnormal behaviors. Porches are small cages that attach to the primary cage of an animal to provide additional space and a better view of the...

Woelffer, S., Ace, L., Sullivan, J. et al., 2018. Enhanced physical environment in single-housed macaques: A long-term usage profile of cage extensions. American Journal of Primatology 80(S1), 19-20 (40th Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists Scientific Program, Abstract #25).

Social housing is always preferred in the research environment; however, single housing is sometimes necessitated by scientific objectives or social incompatibility. In these cases, other environmental enhancements are developed to provide indirect social interactions. We...

Neal Webb, S. J., Hau, J., Schapiro, S. J. 2018. A comparison of activity patterns of captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) housed in primadomes™ or corrals. American Journal of Primatology 80(S1), 45-46 (40th Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists Scientific Program, Abstract #141).

Primadomes™ and corrals, two types of housing options available to captive chimpanzees, differ in several physical features, including closed (primadomes™) or open (corrals) tops, mesh (primadomes™) or concrete (corrals) walls, and available space per animal...

Yoshimoto, T., Takahashi, E., Yamashita, S. et al. 2018. Larger cages with housing unit environment enrichment improve the welfare of marmosets. Experimental Animals 67(1), 31-39.

The provision of adequate space for laboratory animals is essential not only for good welfare but accurate studies. For example, housing conditions for primates used in biomedical research may negatively affect welfare and thus the...