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. 
Gonzaleza, M., Averosa, X., de Herediaa, I. B. et al. 2013. The effect of social buffering on fear responses in sheep (Ovis aries). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 149(1-4), 13-20.

Fear in farm animals has been extensively studied because of its close relation to animal welfare. Numerous studies have categorized the behavioral responses of animals to stimuli that can elicit a fear reaction under social...

Benton, C. G., West, M. W., Hall, S. M. et al. 2013. Effect of short-term pair housing of juvenile rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) on immunologic parameters. JAALAS 52(3), 240-246.

Social housing of nonhuman primates (NHP) in an infectious disease setting presents unique challenges, and individual housing is often scientifically justified. At our institute, we recognized an opportunity to limit individual housing to the minimal...

Patt, A., Gygax, L., Wechsler, B. et al. 2013. Factors influencing the welfare of goats in small established groups during the separation and reintegration of individuals. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 144(1-2), 63-72.

As a goat's separation from or reintegration into its group is likely to have an adverse effect on the welfare of both the separated goat and the remaining goats in the group, management procedures need...

Rose, A. M. 2013. An inexpensive approach to social housing enrichment for laboratory rabbits and guinea pigs. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 1(4) (December), 46-48.

We analyzed our current enrichment protocols in order to develop and implement social experiences for our rabbit and guinea pig colonies. This article describes the development of an exercise pen for rabbits and a custom-made...

Gazes, R. P., Brown, E. K., Basile, B. M. et al. 2013. Automated cognitive testing of monkeys in social groups yields results comparable to individual laboratory-based testing. Animal Cognition 16(3), 445–458.

Cognitive abilities likely evolved in response to specific environmental and social challenges and are therefore expected to be specialized for the life history of each species. Specialized cognitive abilities may be most readily engaged under...

Andrist, C. A., Bigler, L. M., Wurbel, H. W. et al. 2012. Effects of group stability on aggression, stress and injuries in breeding rabbits. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 142(3-4), 182-188.

On Swiss rabbit breeding farms, group-housed does are usually kept singly for 12 days around parturition to avoid pseudogravidity, double litters and deleterious fighting for nests. After this isolation phase there is usually an integration...

Truelove, M. A., Martin, A. L., Perlman, J. E. et al. 2012. Behavioral assessment of rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) pairs through a common laboratory event. American Journal of Primatology 74(S1), 42. (35th Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists Scientific Program, Abstract #54)

Using behavioral data to predict pair stability would be helpful for improving management of pairs and prevention of injury. Differences in reactions to presumed laboratory stressors, such as location moves, may provide information about pair...

Lee, G. H., Thom, J. P., Chu, K. L. et al. 2012. Comparing the relative benefits of grooming-contact and full-contact pairing for laboratory-housed adult female Macaca fascicularis. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 137(3-4), 157-165.

This study compares the benefits between the two housing types by video recording 14 pairs of adult female Macaca fascicularis in four sequential housing phases following an ABBA design: baseline grooming-contact, full contact shortly after...

Harding, K. 2012. Assessment of a temperament test for use in pairing adult male Macaca fascicularis. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 636 (Abstract #PS34).

Our NHP import quarantine facility has close to a 90% success rate with pairing adult male (> 5 kg) cynomolgus macaques. Given the challenges of pairing adult male NHP, our goal was to determine if...

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...

Rault, J.-L. 2012. Friends with benefits: Social support and its relevance for farm animal welfare. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 136(1), 1-14.

Despite growing interest in promoting positive welfare, rather than just alleviating poor welfare, potential measures of good welfare, and means to provide it, have remained elusive. In humans social support improves stress-coping abilities, health, and...

DiVincenti, L., Rehrig, A., Wyatt, J. 2012. Interspecies pair housing of macaques in a research facility. Laboratory Animals 46(2), 1170-1172.

The eighth edition of The Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals establishes social housing as the "default" for social species including non-human primates. The advantages of social housing for primates have been...

Walters, S. L., Torres-Urbano, C. J., Chichester, L. et al. 2012. The impact of huts on physiological stress: A refinement in post-transport housing of male guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus). Laboratory Animals 46(3), 220-224.

The ideal animal model would contribute no confounding variables in experimental science. Variables affect experimental design resulting in increased animal use or repeated studies. We demonstrated a simple refinement which may reduce the number of...

Scotto, J. 2012. Group housing male rabbits: Yes, it can be done. Tech Talk [The Newsletter for Laboratory Animal Science Technicians] 17(6), 3.

Since we receive rabbits at 10-12 weeks of age and we only house them for about 3 to 4 weeks, we decided to give group housing a try. Change is hard for most people and...

Camacho, J. N., Boskovic, S., Moeller, E. 2012. Improved nonhuman primate social housing using visual cues associated for an intensive research study. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 636-637 (Abstract #PS35).

Lean management-based visual tools have been used to improve the quality of animal care associated with a complex research study involving immune-compromised cynomolgus monkeys (M. fascicularis) in various postsurgical recovery states. In order to effectively...

Blyth, L. 2012. A safe, gentle and effective method of oral dosing guinea-pigs. Animal Technology and Welfare 11, 187-188.

Guinea pigs are difficult to oral gavage dose. Previous adverse effects from this dosing method, using rigid catheters, had caused an earlier endpoint to studies and loss of data. We therefore developed a prototype gag...

Baker, K. C., Crockett, C. M., Lee, G. H. et al. 2012. Pair housing of female longtailed and rhesus macaques in the laboratory: Behavior in protected contact versus full contact. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 15(2), 126-143.

Pair housing for caged macaques in the laboratory generally allows unrestricted tactile contact but, less commonly, may involve limited contact via grooming-contact bars or perforated panels. The purpose of using this protected contact housing, which...

Baker, K. C. 2012. Implementation of pair housing for laboratory primates. American Journal of Primatology 74(S1), 31. (35th Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists Scientific Program, Abstract #20)

There is a general consensus among those studying the welfare of captive primates that social housing is the most effective means for promoting psychological well-being. It is well established that socially-housed rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta)...

Baker, K. C., Bloomsmith, M. A., Oettinger, B. et al. 2012. Benefits of pair housing are consistent across a diverse population of rhesus macaques. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 137(3-4), 148-156.

Introducing singly housed rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) into isosexual pairs is widely considered to improve welfare. The population of laboratory rhesus macaques is heterogeneous on a variety of factors and there is little literature available...

de Paula Vieira, A., Weary, D. M., de Passillé, A. M. 2012. Effects of the early social environment on behavioral responses of dairy calves to novel events. Journal of Dairy Science 95(9), 5149-5155.

Providing young animals the opportunity to engage in more complex social interactions is hypothesized to improve their capacity to cope with changing environments. To test the effects of the early social environment on the behavioral...

Duve, L. R., Jensen, M. B. 2012. Social behavior of young dairy calves housed with limited or full social contact with a peer. Journal of Dairy Science 95(10), 5936-5945.

This study compared the effect of individual and pair housing and age at pair housing on the social behavior of young dairy calves. Twenty-seven pairs of calves were reared from birth until 6 wk either...

Gilbert, M. H., Baker, K. C. 2011. Social buffering in adult male rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta): Effects of stressful events in single vs pair housing. Journal of Medical Primatology 40(2), 71-78.

The purpose of this study was to test whether long-term pair housing of male rhesus macaques ameliorated negative responses to stressful events that can occur in the course of routine husbandry or research procedures. Twelve...

Schapiro, S. J., Bernacky, B. J. 2011. Socialization strategies and disease transmission in captive colonies of nonhuman primates. American Journal of Primatology 74(6), 518-527.

In captive research environments for nonhuman primates (NHP), social housing strategies are often in conflict with protocols designed to minimize disease transmission. This is particularly true in breeding colonies, and is especially relevant when attempting...

Smith, A. S., Birnie, A. K., French, J. A. 2011. Social isolation affects partner-directed social behavior and cortisol during pair formation in marmosets, Callithrix geoffroyi. Physiology & Behavior 104(5), 955-961.

Pair-bonded relationships form during periods of close spatial proximity and high sociosexual contact. Like other monogamous species, marmosets form new social pairs after emigration or ejection from their natal group resulting in periods of social...

DiVincenti, L., Wyatt, J. D. 2011. Pair housing of macaques in research facilities: A science-based review of benefits and risks. JAALAS 50(6), 856-863.

Despite the enactment in the early 1990s of regulations requiring social housing of nonhuman primates (NHP), single housing is still prevalent in American research facilities. The publication of the 2011 edition of The Guide for...