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. 
Bergman, T. J., Sheehan, M. J. 2013. Social knowledge and signal in primates. American Journal of Primatology 75(7), 683-694.

Primates are notable for having a rich and detailed understanding of their social environment and there has been great interest in the evolution and function of social knowledge in primates. Indeed, primates have been shown...

Chum, H., Felt, S., Garner, J. et al. 2013. Biology, behavior, and environmental enrichment for the captive African clawed frog (Xenopus spp). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 143(2-4), 150-156.

Xenopus are a hardy, long-lived, aquatic amphibian species which readily adapt to a captive environment. This characteristic makes Xenopus ideal for the laboratory, where they are used extensively in basic and biomedical research. Though husbandry...

Burghardt, G. M. 2013. Environmental enrichment and cognitive complexity in reptiles and amphibians: Concepts, review, and implications for captive populations. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 147(3-4), 286-298.

Reptiles and amphibians have been neglected in research on cognition, emotions, sociality, need for enriched and stimulating environments, and other topics that have been greatly emphasized in work on mammals and birds. This is also...

Carey, M. C., West, A. M., Diaz, B. et al. 2013. Enrichment object preferences in laboratory rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). American Journal of Primatology 75(S1), 81. (36th Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists Scientific Program, Abstract #162)

To promote the psychological well-being of captive non-human primates, facilities develop and implement an environmental enhancement plan (Animal Welfare Act, Section 3.81). Enrichment options described in the plan should be selected to demonstrably promote species-typical...

Bloomsmith, M., Franklin, A., Neu, K. et al. 2013. Training time required to collect a variety of biological samples using primarily positive reinforcement training methods. American Journal of Primatology 75(S1), 65. (36th Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists Scientific Program, Abstract #112)

Positive reinforcement training (PRT) methods can be applied to gain the voluntary cooperation of laboratory primates with the collection of biological samples. Information will be provided on training techniques used and the amount of training...

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...

Weissman-Socci, S., Ray, K. D. 2011. Training rhesus macaques for conscious blood sampling in six steps. Tech Talk [The Newsletter for Laboratory Animal Science Technicians] 16(6), 3.

Step 1 Gently squeeze the animal about halfway towards you. Hold the animal in place for about 1 to 2 seconds.We use this time to talk to the animal calmly in a gentle voice. When...

NC3Rs, University of Stirling. 2011. Common Marmoset Care [Online resource].

The three main divisions of 'marmosetcare.com' aim respectively to promote: an understanding of the range of behaviour in this species, placing this behaviour in the context of its natural habitat and promoting good welfare in...

Huber, H. F., Lewis, K. P. 2011. An assessment of gum-based environmental enrichment for captive gummivorous primates. Zoo Biology 30(1), 71-78.

In the wild, many primates consume gums exuded from trees, and many species are gum specialists. In spite of this, few data exist concerning gum feeding in captivity. Using a web-based survey of 46 zoos...

Honess, P., Fernadez, L. 2011. Environmental enrichment for captive and wild-born macaques. Enrichment Record 9, 16-18.

Although the use of wild-born primates in research is banned in some countries, in others it is commonplace. It has been demonstrated that not only do wild-born primates react more strongly to some stressors than...

Beisner, B. A., Isbell, L. A. 2011. Factors affecting aggression among females in captive groups of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). American Journal of Primatology 73(11), 1152-1159.

Captive groups of primates often exhibit higher rates of aggression than wild, free-ranging groups. It is important to determine which factors influence aggression in captivity because aggression, particularly intense aggression, can be harmful to animal...

Watson, L. M. 2010. Effectiveness of perforated plexiglass dividers as social grooming devices between neighboring, individually housed adult male Macaca fascicularis. Laboratory Primate Newsletter 49(4), 1-4.

A clear, perforated, plexiglass divider was installed between neighboring cynos to test whether it altered their proximity to one another, or prompted any behavioral changes. ... Adult male cynomolgus monkeys tend not to spend a...

Williams-Fritze, M. J., Altieri, J. A., Clough, C. et al. 2010. Modification of a dog cage for use as an exercise unit for rabbits. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 703 (Abstract #P70).

The Guide for the Care and Use of Animals and the USDA Animal Welfare Regulations (AWR) outline minimum space requirements for laboratory animals, including rabbits. These documents encourage housing of animals in enclosures that allow...

Nelson, E. A., Keller, G. L., Mitchell, T. W. et al. 2010. A jugular bleeding technique in rabbits. Lab Animal 39(1), 17-22.

When studying pharmacokinetics in rabbits, researchers must often take multiple blood samples from conscious rabbits. Researchers usually collect these samples via the auricular vein, typically through a port or an indwelling catheter. The authors have...

Hawkins, P., Hubrecht, R., Buckwell, A. et al. 2008. Refining Rabbit Care: A Resource for Those Working With Rabbits in Research. UFAW/RSPCA: Southwater, UK, 27 pp.

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...

Shutt, K., MacLarnon, A., Heistermann, M. et al. 2007. Grooming in Barbary macaques: better to give than receive? Biology Letters 3(3), 231-233.

It is well established that grooming underpins sociality in group-living primates, and a number of studies have documented the stress-reducing effects of being groomed. In this study, we quantified grooming behaviour and physiological stress (assessed...

Schapiro, S. J., Laule, G., Seelig, D. 2007. "Applied behavior" panel discussion. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 10(1), 79-81.

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.

Mallapur, A., Waran, N., Sinha, A. 2007. A note on enrichment for captive lion-tailed macaques (Macaca silenus). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 108(1-2), 191-195.

Two enrichment techniques were devised with the aim of reducing stress and improving welfare for captive lion-tailed macaques in an Indian zoo. In Study A, a log, cotton ropes and a feeding basket were added...

Crast, J. 2007. Socially-mediated learning in groups of primates: models and methods. American Journal of Primatology 69(S1), 74. (30th Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists Scientific Program, Abstract #90)

An ethological understanding of a behavioral phenomenon incorporates four levels of explanation: development, mechanism, function, and evolution. The phenomenon of socially-mediated learning has garnered a great deal of attention from ethologists, prominently including primatologists. Gregarious...

Colson, S., Arnould, C., Michel, V. 2007. Motivation to dust-bathe of laying hens housed in cages and in aviaries. Animal 1(3), 433-437.

New housing systems for commercial egg production, furnished cages and non-cage systems, should improve the welfare of laying hens. In particular, thanks to the presence of a litter area, these new housing systems are thought...

Reinhardt, V. 2003. Working with rather than against macaques during blood collection. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 6(3), 189-197.

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...

Bassett, L., Buchanan-Smith, H. M., McKinley, J. et al. 2003. Effects of training on stress-related behavior of the common marmost (Callithrix jacchus) in relation to coping with routine husbandry procedures. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 6(3), 221-233.

Using positive reinforcement, J. McKinley trained 12 common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) to provide urine samples on request. The study then exposed the marmosets to mildly stressful, routine husbandry procedures (i.e., capture and weighing). The nonhuman...

Schapiro, S. J. 2000. A few new developments in primate housing and husbandry. Scandinavian Journal of Laboratory Animal Science 27(2), 103-110.

A major focus of this paper is an examination of the complementary role that behavioral management strategies play in the establishment and enhancement of well-defined nonhuman primate research resources. .... Additionally, I will discuss the...

Reinhardt, V., Reinhardt, A. 2000. Blood collection procedure of laboratory primates: A neglected variable in biomedical research. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 3(4), 321-333.

A survey of 75 biomedical articles dealing with stress-dependent blood parameters in caged primates revealed that the conditions under which blood collection occurred were in most cases [72%] described either not at all or so...