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. 
Krall, C., Glass, S., Dancourt, G. et al. 2019. Behavioural anxiety predisposes rabbits to intra-operative apnoea and cardiorespiratory instability. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 221, 104875.

Rabbits are prone to complications from both anaesthesia and anxiety. Given that anxiety can often impact quality of anaesthesia, we developed a novel cage-side anxiety assessment, and sought to determine whether it correlated to pre-...

Engel, R. M., Thomas III, M. L., Banks, R. E. 2019. Regional anesthesia for dentistry and orofacial surgery in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). JAALAS 58(2), 223-230.

Regional anesthesia is a commonly used adjunct to orofacial dental and surgical procedures in companion animals and humans. However, appropriate techniques for anesthetizing branches of the mandibular and maxillary nerves have not been described for...

Association of Primate Veterinarians. 2019. Association of Primate Veterinarians’ Position Statement: Cerebrospinal fluid aspiration for nonhuman primates in biomedical research. JAALAS 58(4), 428-429.

The Association of Primate Veterinarians (APV) recognizes that CSF collection may be required for both clinical and research purposes in nonhuman primates (NHP). Because there are inherent risks associated with the technique, the laboratory animal...

Sloman, K, A., Bouyoucos, I. A., Brooks, E. J. et al. 2019. Ethical considerations in fish research. Journal of Fish Biology 94(4), 556-577.

In this review, we focus primarily on the refinement of common methods used in fish research based on emerging knowledge with the aim of improving the welfare of fish used in scientific studies. We consider...

Gray, H., Thiele, A., Rowe, C. 2019. Using preferred fluids and different reward schedules to motivate rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) in cognitive tasks. Laboratory Animals 53(4), 372–382.

Rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) used in behavioural neuroscience are often required to complete cognitively complex tasks, for which a high level of motivation is essential. To induce motivation, researchers may implement fluid-restriction protocols, whereby freely...

Ehrlich, O., Karamalakis, A., Krylov, A. J. et al. 2019. Clove oil and AQUI-S efficacy for zebrafish embryo, larva, and adult anesthesia. Zebrafish 16(5), 451-459.

Since the use of the zebrafish Danio rerio genetic model organism within the scientific research community continues to grow rapidly, continued procedural refinement to support high-quality, reproducible research and improve animal welfare remains an important...

Mason, S., Premereur, E., Pelekanos, V. et al. 2019. Effective chair training methods for neuroscience research involving rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Journal of Neuroscience Methods 317, 82-93.

Background: Neuroscience research using macaques remains fundamental in our endeavours to understand how the human brain functions. Applying the refinement principle of the 3Rs is essential to optimise the monkeys’ welfare and still produces high...

Smith, B. D., Vail, K. J., Carroll, G. L. et al. 2018. Comparison of etomidate, benzocaine, and MS222 anesthesia with and without subsequent flunixin meglumine analgesia in African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis). JAALAS 57(2), 202-209.

Often few alternative anesthetics for exotic species are available, due to the small numbers of these animals used in research. In this study, we evaluated the depth and duration of anesthesia in Xenopus laevis after...

Phillips, K.A., Tukan, A. N., Rigodanzo, A. D. et al. 2018. Quantification of hair cortisol concentration in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) and tufted capuchins (Cebus apella). American Journal of Primatology 80(7), e22879.

Quantifying cortisol concentration in hair is a non‐invasive biomarker of long‐term hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) activation, and thus can provide important information on laboratory animal health. Marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) and capuchins (Cebus apella) are New World primates...

Franklin, A. N., Martin, A. L., Brennan, C. R. et al. 2018. A comparison of desensitization techniques to train rhesus macaques to take food from a human. American Journal of Primatology 80(S1), 13 (40th Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists Scientific Program, Abstract #5).

Some primates express fear of or avoid interaction with humans, including accepting food. Counter‐conditioning training designed to reduce fear and increase the acceptance of food from a person's hand can reduce the stress an animal...

Egelkamp, C. L., Leahy, M. A., Ross, S. R. et al. 2018. Testing food preferences in zoo-housed apes with touchscreens. American Journal of Primatology 80(S1), 30 (40th Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists Scientific Program, Abstract #58).

Preference testing has many benefits, informing both applied management decisions and theoretical questions. We developed a preference‐testing method in which subjects are shown pairs of photographs of food items on a touchscreen in a forced‐choice...

Coleman, K., Robertson, N. D. 2018. Training non-lactating rhesus macaques to act as foster mothers. American Journal of Primatology 80(S1), 34-35 (40th Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists Scientific Program, Abstract #94).

There can be psychological and physiological consequences resulting from nursery rearing rhesus macaques. To reduce the need for nursery rearing, orphaned infants are often placed with lactating foster mothers. Unfortunately, a supply of these lactating...

Martin, A. L., Franklin, A. N., Perlman, J. E. et al. 2018. Systematic assessment of food item preference and reinforcer effectiveness: Enhancements in training laboratory-housed rhesus macaques. Behavioural Processes 157, 445-452.

The use of systematic preference assessments can enhance positive reinforcement training with captive animals. We found that the multiple stimulus without replacement (MSWO) technique identified food preferences in laboratory housed rhesus macaques, with raisins and...

González-Pech, P. G., Marín-Tun, C. G., Valladares-González, D.A. et al. 2018. A protocol of human animal interaction to habituate young sheep and goats for behavioural studies. Behavioural Processes 157, 632-637.

Animal habituation is key to obtain reliable data on behavioural studies but detailed procedures to achieve it are scarce. This study designed a set of actions to habituate sheep and goats to human observers. Pelibuey...

Gray, H., Pearce, B., Thiele, A. 2017. The use of preferred social stimuli as rewards for rhesus macaques in behavioural neuroscience. PLOS ONE 12(5), e0178048.

Macaques are often motivated to perform in neuroscientific experiments by implementing fluid restriction protocols. Daily access to water is controlled and the monkeys are rewarded with droplets of fluid for performing correct trials in the...

Rodrigues, M. V., de Castro, S. O., de Albuquerque, C. Z. 2017. The gingival vein as a minimally traumatic site for multiple blood sampling in guinea pigs and hamsters. PLOS ONE 12(5), e0177967.

Laboratory animals are still necessary in scientific investigation and vaccine testing, but while novel methodological approaches are not available for their replacement, the search for new, humane, easy, and painless methods is necessary to diminish...

Schmitz, S., Tacke, S., Guth, B. et al. 2017. Repeated anaesthesia with isoflurane and medetomidine-midazolam-fentanyl in guinea pigs and its influence on physiological parameters. PLOS ONE 12(3), e0174423.

Repeated anaesthesia may be required in experimental protocols and in daily veterinary practice, but anaesthesia is known to alter physiological parameters in GPs (Cavia porcellus, GPs). This study investigated the effects of repeated anaesthesia with...

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...

De Lombaert, M. C. M., Rick, E. L., Krugner-Higby, L. A. et al. 2017. Behavioral characteristics of adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) after MS222 anesthesia for fin excision. JAALAS 56(4), 377-381.

The health of laboratory animals is an ethical responsibility of researchers and a critical determinant of experimental outcome. Therefore, all Husbandry & Management procedures should be evaluated for their effects on mortality, behavior, and physiology...

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...

Parkinson, L., Mans, C. 2017. Anesthetic and postanesthetic effects of alfaxalone–butorphanol compared with dexmedetomidine–ketamine in chinchillas (Chinchilla lanigera). JAALAS 56(3), 290-295.

Effective and safe anesthetic protocols are required for a variety of surgical and diagnostic procedures in chinchillas. Alfaxalone, a new anesthetic agent in the United States, can be administered intramuscularly and subcutaneously and is therefore...

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...

Rapp-Santos, K. J., Altamura, L. A., Norris, S. L. et al. 2017. Comparison of saliva collection methods for the determination of salivary cortisol levels in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis), and African green monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops). JAALAS 56(2), 181-189.

The ability to quickly and accurately determine cortisol as a biomarker for stress is a valuable tool in assessing the wellbeing of NHP. In this study, 2 methods of collecting saliva (a commercial collection device...

Hawkins, P., McNeilly, A., Watson, J. et al. 2017. Report of the 2016 RSPCA/UFAW Rodent and Rabbit Welfare Group meeting. Animal Technology and Welfare 16(2), 77-86.

The RSPCA/UFAW Rodent (and now Rabbit) Welfare Group held a one-day meeting on 1 November 2016 at the University of Edinburgh and was attended by 70 delegates. Presentation topics included refinements in blood sampling rodents...