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. 
Hankenson, F. C., Marx, J. O., Gordon, C. J. et al. 2018. Effects of rodent thermoregulation on animal models in the research environment. Comparative Medicine 68(6), 425–438.

To best promote animal wellbeing and the efficacy of biomedical models, scientific, husbandry, and veterinary professionals must consider the mechanisms, influences, and outcomes of rodent thermoregulation in contemporary research environments. Over the last 2 decades...

Chance, R. J., Cameron, G. A., Fordyce, M. et al. 2018. Effects of repeated anaesthesia on gill and general health of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar. Journal of Fish Biology 93(6), 1069-1081.

Fish are the second most widely utilized vertebrate group used for scientific procedures in the United Kingdom, but the development and application of 3Rs (the principles of replacement, reduction, and refinement) in aquaculture disease research...

Byrd, R., Boyd, S., Buckmaster, C. 2018. Rat thunder jacket— A zen experience. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 6(3) (September), 55-57.

Germ-free rats are fairly uncommon, relative to germ-free mice, and restraining these animals safely and effectively for compound administration and blood collection can be challenging. There are many commercially available varieties of restraint devices, but...

Foris, B., Zebunke, M., Langbein, J. et al. 2018. Evaluating the temporal and situational consistency of personality traits in adult dairy cattle. PLOS ONE 13(10), e0204619.

Recent research suggests that personality, defined as consistent individual behavioral variation, in farm animals could be an important factor when considering their health, welfare, and productivity. However, behavioral tests are often performed individually and they...

Hempstead, M. N., Waas, J. R., Stewart, M. et al. 2018. The effectiveness of clove oil and two different cautery disbudding methods on preventing horn growth in dairy goat kids. PLOS ONE 13(11), e0198229.

The effectiveness of clove oil and cautery disbudding on horn growth was evaluated in goat kids. The study used 243 Saanen doe kids (4±1 days old; mean±SD) on two goat farms that were disbudded with...

Hopper, L. M., Cronin, K. A., Ross, S. R. 2018. A multi-institutional assessment of a short-form personality questionnaire for use with macaques. Zoo Biology 37(5), 281-289

There are two commonly used methods for calculating primates’ personality dimensions, behavioral assessments and surveys, which can be used separately or in conjunction. However, these methods have limitations. Behavioral assessments, such as the novel object...

Reupke, V., Walliser, K., Perl, T. et al. 2017. Total intravenous anaesthesia using propofol and sufentanil allows controlled long-term ventilation in rabbits without neuromuscular blocking agents. Laboratory Animals 51(3), 284-291.

The aim of this study was to evaluate a total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA) protocol using propofol and sufentanil without neuromuscular blocking agents (NBAs) for a non-recovery lung pathology study in rabbits including 10 h of...

Nordquist, R., van der Staay, F., van Eerdenburg, F. et al. 2017. Mutilating procedures, management practices, and housing conditions that may affect the welfare of farm animals: Implications for welfare research. Animals 7(2), 12.

A number of mutilating procedures, such as dehorning in cattle and goats and beak trimming in laying hens, are common in farm animal husbandry systems in an attempt to prevent or solve problems, such as...

Zhang, E. Q., Knight, C. G., Pang, D. S. J. 2017. Heating pad performance and efficacy of 2 durations of warming after isoflurane anesthesia of Sprague–Dawley rats (Rattus norvegicus). JAALAS 56(6), 786-791.

Anesthetic agents depress thermoregulatory mechanisms, causing hypothermia within minutes of induction of general anesthesia. The consequences of hypothermia include delayed recovery and increased experimental variability. Even when normothermia is maintained during anesthesia, hypothermia may occur...

Williams, M. D., Long, C. T., Durrant, J. R. et al. 2017. Oral transmucosal detomidine gel in New Zealand White rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). JAALAS 56(4), 436-442.

Handling and restraining rabbits for routine procedures may be impossible without prior sedation, result in unnecessary stress or injury to the rabbit or handler, and increase experimental variability. Parenteral administration of sedatives can cause stress...

Chatigny, F., Kamunde, C., Creighton, C. M. et al. 2017. Uses and doses of local anesthetics in fish, amphibians, and reptiles. JAALAS 56(3), 244-253.

Local anesthetics are an integral part of routine pain management in mammals, yet their use is relatively limited in fish, amphibians and reptiles. These animals frequently undergo potentially painful surgical procedures and therefore could possibly...

Chinnadurai, S. K., Johnson III, J. G., Langan, J. N. 2017. Comparison of 3 methods for preventing perianesthetic hypothermia in callimicos (Callimico goeldii). JAALAS 56(3), 318-321.

Perianesthetic hypothermia is one of the most common complications in veterinary anesthesia, especially in small patients with a large body surface area to mass ratio. During anesthesia, body heat can be lost through 4 mechanisms—radiation...

Wilding, L. A., Hampel, J. A., Khoury, B. M. et al. 2017. Benefits of 21% oxygen compared with 100% oxygen for delivery of isoflurane to mice (Mus musculus) and rats (Rattus norvegicus). JAALAS 56(2), 148-154.

At research institutions, isoflurane delivered by precision vaporizer to a face mask is the standard for rodent surgery and for procedures with durations that exceed a few minutes. Pure oxygen is often used as the...

Greenwell, P. J., Montrose, V. T. 2017. The gray matter: Prevention and reduction of abnormal behavior in companion gray parrots (Psittacus erithacus). Journal of Veterinary Behavior 20, 44-51.

Gray parrots (Psittacus erithacus) are popular companion birds, particularly noted for their ability to mimic human speech, their intelligence, and longevity. They are also prone to developing abnormal behaviors such as feather damaging behavior. This...

Hill, H. M. 2017. The psychology of cows? A case of over-interpretation and personification. Animal Behavior and Cognition 4(4), 506–511.

Reviews of existing literature on topics that have been neglected, such as the subject of the cognitive and affective abilities of cows, are productive and necessary exercises in science (Elwen, Findlay, Kiszka, & Weir, 2011...

Marino, L. 2017. Thinking chickens: A review of cognition, emotion, and behavior in the domestic chicken. Animal Cognition 20(2), 127–147.

Domestic chickens are members of an order, Aves, which has been the focus of a revolution in our understanding of neuroanatomical, cognitive, and social complexity. At least some birds are now known to be on...

Marino, L., Allen, K. 2017. The psychology of cows. Animal Behavior and Cognition 4(4), 474–498

Domestic cows (Bos taurus) are consumed worldwide as beef and veal, kept as dairy product producers, employed as draft animals in labor, and are used for a long list of other products, including leather and...

Miller, A. L., Golledge, H. D. R., Leach, M. C. 2016. The influence of isoflurane anaesthesia on the rat grimace scale. PLOS ONE 11(11), e0166652.

Over 234,000 rats were used in regulated procedures in the UK in 2014, many of which may have resulted in some degree of pain. When using animals in research, there is an ethical and legal...

McCarthy, D., Windsor, P. A., Harris, C. et al. 2016. Effect of topically applied anaesthetic formulation on the sensitivity of scoop dehorning wounds in calves. PLOS ONE 11(9), e0163181.

The post-operative effects of three formulations of topical anaesthetic and a cornual nerve block on the sensitivity of scoop dehorning wounds in calves were compared in two trials. In Trial 1, 21 female Holstein dairy...

Moheban, A. A., Chang, H. H., Havton, L. A. 2016. The suitability of propofol compared with urethane for anesthesia during urodynamic studies in rats. JAALAS 55(1), 89–94.

Urethane anesthesia preserves many reflex functions and is often the preferred anesthetic for urodynamic studies in rats. Because of the toxicity profile of urethane, its use as an anesthetic typically is limited to acute and...

Hartcher, K. M., Tran, M. K. T. N., Wilkinson, S. J., et al. 2015. Plumage damage in free-range laying hens: Behavioural characteristics in the rearing period and the effects of environmental enrichment and beak-trimming. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 164, 64-72.

Severe feather-pecking, whereby birds peck at and pull out the feathers of other birds, is one of the greatest welfare concerns and the most prevalent behavioural problem in laying hens. It can be extremely difficult...

Reinhardt, V. (ed.) 2013. Compassion Makes a Difference - Discussions by the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum [LAREF], Volume III. Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, DC.

This is the third volume of discussions that took place on the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum (LAREF). This forum is dedicated to the exchange of personal experiences of refining the conditions under which...

Abelson, K. S. P., Jacobsen, K. R., Sundbom, R. et al. 2012. Voluntary ingestion of nut paste for administration of buprenorphine in rats and mice. Laboratory Animals 46(4), 349-351.

An adequate analgesic strategy is important to improve the postoperative recovery and welfare of laboratory rats and mice. It is desirable that the method for administering the drug is non-invasive and stress-free. We have previously...

Fante, F., Baldan, N., De Benedictis, G. M. et al. 2012. Refinement of a macaque transplantation model: Application of a subcutaneous port as a means for long-term enteral drug administration and nutritional supplementation. Laboratory Animals 46(2), 114-121.

A new application of a device enabling the long-term enteral administration of drugs or nutritional supplementation was developed for implementing in research entailing the use of macaques (Macaca fascicularis). After implanting a subcutaneous port, a...

Corbett, A., McGowin, A., Sieber, S. et al. 2012. A method for reliable voluntary oral administration of a fixed dosage (mg/kg) of chronic daily medication to rats. Laboratory Animals 46(4), 318-324.

Stress can influence a number of physiological processes including adult neurogenesis, metabolism, cardiovascular function, immune function, neurophysiological function, endocrine function and inflammatory processes following injury. In testing drugs which may be used to treat various...