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. 
Burn, C., Mason, G. 2005. Long-term effects of cage-cleaning frequency and bedding type on laboratory rat welfare: A cross-laboratory study. Animal Technology and Welfare 4, 80-82.

Cage-cleaning frequency does not have a clear effect on welfare in male rats.

Bayne, K. 2005. Potential for unintended consequences of environmental enrihment for laboratory animals and research results. ILAR Journal 46(2), 129-139.

Many aspects of the research animal's housing environment are controlled for quality and/or standardization. Of recent interest is the potential for environmental enrichment to have unexpected consequences such as unintended harm to the animal, or...

Sharp, J. L., Zammit, T., Azar, T. A. et al. 2003. Stress-like responses to common procedures in individually and group-housed female rats. Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science 42(1), 9-18.

Mean resting HR values in the mornings prior to human contact were significantly (P

Sharp, J. L., Zammit, T., Azar, T. A. et al. 2003. Are "by-stander" female Sprague-Dawley rats affected by experimental procedures? Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science 42(1), 19-28.

The objective of this study was to test the hypotheses that female rats are stressed by being in the same room as animals subjected to common husbandry and experimental procedures and that the level of...

Patterson-Kane, E. G. 2003. Shelter enrichment for rats. Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science 42(2), 46-48.

Nest boxes are a simple and effective form of environmentalenrichment. Rats accept a wide range of nest-box types but have the strongest...preference for enclosed, opaque, thermoplastic boxes. ...Tubes have proven a relatively ineffective enrichment for...

Reinhardt, V. 2002. The myth of the aggressive monkey. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 5(4), 321-330.

Captive rhesus macaques are not intrinsically aggressive, but poor husbandry and handling practices can trigger their aggression towards conspecifics and towards the human handler. The statement 'rhesus macaques are so aggressive animals' is probably based...

Reinhardt, V. 2002. Artificial weaning of Old World monkeys: Benefits and costs. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 5(2), 151-156.

The perceived benefits of permanent, pre-weaning mother-infant separation are not supported by scientific findings. ... As long as there is an excessive number of monkeys and insufficient cage space, there is no ethically legitimate reason...

Reinhardt, V., Reinhardt, A. 2000. The lower row monkey cage: An overlooked variable in biomedical research. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 3(2), 141-149.

A survey of 96 primatological articles revealed that cage location of research monkeys is usually not mentioned (98%), in spite of the fact that the environment of upper- and lower-row housed animals markedly differs in...

Guhad, F., Augustsson, H., Hau, J. 1998. The Törneby Primate Facility optimisation of housing conditions for rhesus macaques in Sweden. Scandinavian Journal of Laboratory Animal Science 25(4), 173-176.

Group-housing arrangements for rhesus macaques and husbandry implications are described.

Woolley, A. P. A. H. 1997. Requirements of biomedical research in terms of housing and husbandry for non-human primates: Pharmacology & Toxicology. Primate Report 49, 37-41.

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)...

Reinhardt, V. 1997. Training nonhuman primates to cooperate during handling procedures: A review. Animal Technology 48, 55-73.

Twenty-six reports provide detailed information of how primates can be trained to voluntarily cooperate - rather than resist - during blood collection, injection, topical drug application, blood pressure measurement, urine collection, and capture.

Schapiro, S. J., Suarez, S. A., Porter, L. M. et al. 1996. The effects of different types of feeding enhancements on the behaviour of single-caged, yearling rhesus macaques. Animal Welfare 5, 129-138.

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...

Capitanio, J. P., Mendoza, S. P., McChesney, M. 1996. Influences of blood sampling procedures on basal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal hormone levels and leukocyte values in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Journal of Medical Primatology 25(1), 26-33.

Differences in housing location and the amount of room disturbance associated with blood sampling have a significant impact on cell counts, but not on ACTH or cortisol levels. We believe that the critical factor that...

Kaliste-Korhonen, E., Eskola, S., Rekilä, T. et al. 1995. Effects of gnawing material, group size and cage level in rack on Wistar rats. Scandinavian Journal of Laboratory Animal Science 22(4), 291-299.

Han:Wist rats were housed after weaning in groups of one, two, three or four in stainless steel cages with aspen chip bedding, with or without wooden gnawing blocks. The use of the blocks was assessed...

Hirsjärvi, P. A., Väliaho, T. 1995. Gentled and nonhandled Wistar rats in a mildly novel open-field situation. Scandinavian Journal of Laboratory Animal Science 22(3), 265-269.

Open-field behaviour of individually gentled and nonhandled adult male Wistar rats was studied in a mildly novel test situation. The gentled rats were more active and showed fewer signs of fear on the first trial...

Reinhardt, V. 1994. Caged rhesus macaques voluntarily work for ordinary food. Primates 35, 95-98.

Eight single-caged adult rhesus macaques were given the choice of freely collecting their standard food ration, i.e. 33 biscuits, from an ordinary food box or working for its retrieval from a custom- made food puzzle...

O'Connor, E., Reinhardt, V. 1994. Caged stumptailed macaques voluntarily work for ordinary food. In Touch 1(1), 10-11.

Ninety-nine of the biscuits were placed in a freely accessible dish attached to the mesh of the front of the cage. Thirty-three biscuits were offered in a food puzzle. Twenty-five percent (4/16) of the subjects...

Visalberghi, E., Anderson, J. R. 1993. Reasons and risks associated with manipulating captive primates' social environments. Animal Welfare 2(1), 3-15 .

Review of the implications of experimental or management-related manipulations of the social environment of captive primates for the animals' welfare. Relatively little empirical work has been done on the effects of manipulation of the social...

Reinhardt, V. 1993c. Using the mesh ceiling as a food puzzle to encourage foraging behaviour in caged rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Animal Welfare 2(2), 165-172.

An attempt was made to encourage more foraging behaviour in eight pair-housed adult rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). No special device and no special food were used. Daily commercial dry food rations consisting of 33 bar-shaped...

Reinhardt, V. 1993. Enticing nonhuman primates to forage for their standard biscuit ration. Zoo Biology 12(3), 307-312.

Ordinary feeder-boxes were converted into food puzzles by remounting them onto the mesh of the front of the cages, away from original access holes. The total amount of time [pair-housed] adult male rhesus macaques engaged...

Cowley, D., Vertein, R., Pape, H. et al. 1993. Improving the work environment for animal care personnel with laboratory macaques. Animal Technology 44, 129-135.

New techniques were developed to avoid the manual transfer - and the associated health hazard - of caged macaques during handling procedures.

Reinhardt, V. 1992. Voluntary progression order in captive rhesus macaques. Zoo Biology 11,(1) 61-66.

The sequence in which 14 laboratory rhesus macaques left their home enclosure during a routine catching procedure was recorded on 30 occasions during 6 weeks. The animals were trained to voluntarily exit one by one...

Reinhardt, V. 1992. Environmental enhancement plan for previously single-caged adult rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Animal Technology 43, 115-119.

To promote the well-being of previously single-caged adult (older than 5 years) rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) and the quality of research done with them, the following environmental enhancement plan has been developed and implemented at...

Reinhardt, V. 1992. Are rhesus macaques really so aggressive? International Zoo News 39(1), 14-19.

Several years of experience with pair housing of previously single-caged adult rhesus macaques and venipuncture in the home cage of cooperative, non-resisting animals lead the author to conclude that rhesus macaques are not as aggressive...

Bayne, K., Dexter, S. L., Mainzer H et al. 1992. The use of artificial turf as a foraging substrate for individually housed rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). Animal Welfare 1, 39-53.

In this study artificial turf was used as the substrate for a particulate food given to the subjects as an environmental enrichment technique. When their cages were not enriched, eight single-caged subjects exhibited abnormal behaviors...