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. 

Positive reinforcement training relies on identifying an effective reinforcing consequence, often food, to be presented contingent on the performance of the desired behavior. Prior to training sessions, we used a multiple stimulus without replacement (MSWO)...

Operant training of animals is a widely accepted practice for training or conditioning animals to cooperate with technical procedures or perform certain tasks in a laboratory setting. This type of training has been proven to...

Operant training of animals is a widely accepted practice to train or condition animals to cooperate with technical procedures or perform certain tasks in a laboratory setting. This type of training has been proven to...

Stereotypic behavior is a pervasive problem for captive monkeys and other animals. Once this behavior pattern has started, it can be difficult to alleviate. We tested whether or not using positive reinforcement training (PRT) can...

Positive reinforcement training is one component of behavioural management employed to improve psychological well-being. There has been regulatory promotion to compensate for restricted social housing in part by providing human interaction to singly caged primates...

PRT is a good way of shaping the behavior of captive animals and doing so can make the animals less stressed to promote their well being. PRT is commonly used by captive animal organizations in...

Positive reinforcement training (PRT) efficiency was examined as a function of training frequency in 33 pair- or triple-housed female rhesus macaques. The animals were trained three times a week, once a day or twice a...

Operant conditioning using positive reinforcement techniques has been used extensively in the management of nonhuman primates in both zoological and laboratory settings. This research project was intended to test the usefulness of counter-conditioning techniques in...

At the California National Primate Research Center, one key to long-term success of macaque breeding colonies is to develop effective infant-rearing strategies that minimize the emergence of behavioral pathologies, which can be one indicator of...

Live, direct observations are often used to collect behavioral data. However, the presence of an observer may affect the behavior of unhabituated subjects. This study was conducted to determine the effect of an observer’s presence...

The report sets out how to provide: optimal enclosure characteristicsand size; social housing; solid flooring and substrate; raised areas; refuges; gnawing objects and dietary enrichment; positive interaction with humans; toys and objects to manipulate; for...

Adriane and Kris just trained eight rhesus monkeys to present their arms in the blood sleeve for blood samples, and it took, on average ... 8 months ... 160 minutes spread out into 40 sessions.

The application of positive reinforcement training (PRT) has increased in zoological, laboratory, and research settings in recent years, however there is little literature pertaining to the development and implementation of such programs. Over the past...

While strictly using positive reinforcement and applying patient gentle-firmness, most macaques can be trained to cooperate during the pole-attachment-chairing procedure. Some cannot be trained, because they have problems overcoming their often-legitimate mistrust of humans.

Positive reinforcement training is an important element of behavioral management programs for nonhuman primates. However, more empirical information is needed to determine whether animals identified for intervention will engage in such training, affecting the amount...

This book covers the major issues affecting the welfare of domestic cats. It covers recent developments in our understanding of cat behaviour, considers the ways in which cat welfare is assessed, and addresses the successes...

This article provides details to consider when preparing to use animals in biomedical research. The stress of transport and receipt of animals into a new environment mandate the need for a period of stabilization and...

Preparation of domestically bred animals for research usually involves some combination of social separation, relocation, resocialization, alterations in physical space, photoperiod, and diet, as well as exposure to novel environments. The research literature that has...

Non-human primates (NHPs) are utilized frequently in biomedical research and can be difficult and sometimes dangerous to handle. Because of this, restraint is sometimes necessary for data collection. Restraint chair training is generally a straightforward...

This article provides a brief historical background of the events and circumstances that led to the 1985 Animal Welfare Act (AWA) amendments. It describes the development of the regulations promulgated by the US Department of...

Experiences with the pole-and-collar training training are shared. Yes, most monkeys can be trained but some cannot, or let's say they should not be trained because their personality -- which is presumably conditioned through negative...

The question was asked: "I am currently pole-and-collar training one of our adult pair-housed rhesus females and hope to get her to graduate to the chair in the next few weeks. Winnie remains sitting when...

12 adult pair-housed female, 5 adult single-housed male and 10 adult pair-housed male rhesus macaques, and 6 adult pair-housed female stump-tailed macaques were trained to cooperate during in-homecage blood collection. The total number of training...