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. 
Cinque, C., De Marco, A., Mairesse, J. et al. 2017. Relocation stress induces short-term fecal cortisol increase in Tonkean macaques (Macaca tonkeana). Primates 58(2), 315-321.

The level of glucocorticoids, especially if obtained from noninvasive sampling, can be used as an index of animal well-being, allowing evaluation of the animal’s response to environmental modifications. Despite evidence that these hormones play a...

Holmes, J., Waters, D., Maisonave, I. et al. 2017. Social interaction for non-sibling pregnant New Zealand white rabbits on reproductive toxicology. Animal Technology and Welfare 16(2), 139-141.

Rabbits are gregarious animals that live in social groups in the wild so individually housing our animals, while meeting the present scientific objectives, restricts their natural social behaviour. How to meet the social needs of...

Breacker, C., Tilley, C. 2017. DNA sampling by skin swabbing for Zebrafish (Danio rerio) and sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Animal Technology and Welfare 16(3), 211-213.

Fin clipping of live fish under anaesthesia is widely used to collect tissues samples for DNA extraction. However, this technique raises a number of ethical concerns, since the use of anaesthetic and/or physical fin damage...

Zomeño, C., Birolo, M., Zuffellato, A. et al. 2017. Aggressiveness in group-housed rabbit does: Influence of group size and pen characteristics. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 194, 79-85.

The aim of this work was to study how the group size and the number of doorways in a pen may influence the aggressive interactions throughout the reproductive cycle among does kept in a part-time...

Stevens, C. H., Croft, D. P., Paull, G. C. et al. 2017. Stress and welfare in ornamental fishes: What can be learned from aquaculture? Journal of Fish Biology 91(2), 409-428.

The ornamental fish trade is estimated to handle up to 1.5 billion fishes. Transportation and handling of fishes imposes a range of stressors that can result in mortality at rates of up to 73%. Given...

Costa, D. C., Mattioli, C. C., Silva, W. S. et al. 2017. The effect of environmental colour on the growth, metabolism, physiology and skin pigmentation of the carnivorous freshwater catfish Lophiosilurus alexandri. Journal of Fish Biology 90(3), 922-935.

The growth, physiology and skin pigmentation of pacamã Lophiosilurus alexandri juveniles were evaluated in an experiment using different tank colours (white, yellow, green, blue, brown and black) over an 80-day period. The tank colours did...

Tucker, R. D. 2017. Woodchuck College. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 5(2) (June), 33-36.

Marmota monax is a valuable laboratory animal species used in studies of Hepatitis B virus (HBV), food intake, obesity, hibernation, and circannual cycles. This article describes the woodchuck’s (also known as groundhog) natural behavior and...

Cavallaro, J., Stevens Jr., R. W., Wilson, B. et al. 2017. Social housing pig tail macaques in repurposed chimpanzee enclosures. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 5(2) (June), 60-61.

As chimpanzees are retired from research, enclosures such as the Primadomes™ become available for repurposing for other monkey species. However, modifications are necessary to meet specific monkey species needs, and considerations for animal handling and...

Roth, T. S., Bionda, T. R., Sterck, E. H. M. 2017. Recapturing the canopy: Stimulating Bornean orang-utan (Pongo pygmaeus) natural locomotion behaviour in a zoo environment. Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research 5(1), 16-24.

Orang-utans are the largest mainly arboreal animal: wild orang-utans rarely come to the forest floor. In contrast, the locomotion behaviour of captive orang-utans encompasses more time on the ground and they spend less time on...

Cornale, P., Macchi, E., Renna, M. et al. 2016. Effect of cage type on fecal corticosterone concentration in buck rabbits during the reproductive cycle. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 19(1), 90-96.

Fecal corticosterone concentration (FCC) was measured in 14 buck rabbits individually housed in standard-dimension cages (SC) or in bigger cages (BC; with a volume more than double that of SC and equipped with a plastic...

Herrington, J. A., Del Rosso, L. A., Capitanio, J. P. 2016. Biobehavioral consequences of prenatal exposure to a matrilineal overthrow and relocation in captive infant rhesus (Macaca mulatta) monkeys. American Journal of Primatology 78(9), 895-903.

There is a general consensus that perinatal experiences help to shape infant behavior; however, relatively little is known about the effects of prenatal experience on postnatal phenotype in non‐human primates. The current study sought to...

Enser, S. 2016. Comparison of housing and welfare of group housed rabbits. Animal Technology and Welfare 15(1), 77-79.

This poster is based on welfare improvements gained from group housing rabbits in floor pens in the new Antibody Production Facility with a focus on development, behaviours and environmental enrichment in both male and female...

O'Keefe, S. 2016. Non-human primate housing facility at Newcastle University. Animal Technology and Welfare 15(2), 131-132.

Monkeys first arrived in the Comparative Biology Centre (CBC) at Newcastle University in 2000. They were housed in three small separate units consisting of steel and wooden cages. In 2011 a decision was made to...

Holmes, A. M., Emmans, C. J., Jones, N. et al. 2016. Impact of tank background on the welfare of the African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis (Daudin). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 185, 131-136.

The captive environment of a laboratory animal can profoundly influence its welfare and the scientific validity of research produced. The African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis) is a common model organism, however current husbandry guidelines lack...

Koch, L., Svendsen, S. 2016. Back to Nature! Rehabilitating Danish Research Monkeys. In: Animal Housing and Human-Animal Relations: Politics, Practices and Infrastructures. Edited by K. Bjørkdahl and T. Druglitrø. Routlege: Abingdon, Oxon. Chapter 5 p. 67-81.

This chapter traces the integration of macaques as experimental organisms for polio in Norway during the 1960s and 1970s. Investigating the integration of macaque monkeys helps to craft an understanding of how political and scientific...

O'Connell, C. P., Leurs, G. 2016. A minimally invasive technique to assess several life-history characteristics of the endangered great hammerhead shark Sphyrna mokarran. Journal of Fish Biology 88(3), 1257-1264.

A dorsal-fin photo-identification technique paired with a non-invasive parallel laser photogrammetry technique was used to non-invasively identify individual Sphyrna mokarran over time. Based on the data collected over a duration of 59 days, 16 different...

Merrill, C., Ordile, J. 2016. Litter box training of rabbits housed in pens. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 4(1) (March), 44-46.

At Pfizer’s Pearl River site, rabbits are socially housed in pairs or triples in dog runs that have been converted into rabbit pens. The daily husbandry and maintenance of these pens, however, proved to be...

Bayne, K. A., Beaver, B. V., Mench, J. A. et al. 2015. Laboratory animal behavior. In: Laboratory Animal Medicine, 3rd edition. Fox, J. G., Anderson, L., Otto, G., et al. (eds). Elsevier, Inc., Amsterdam, NL. pp. 1617-1651.

The study of laboratory animal behavior has increased steadily over the last decade, with expanding emphasis on a variety of commonly used species. In the United States, this trend was initially focused on species for...

Buijs, S., Hermans, K., Maertens, L. et al. 2014. Effects of semi-group housing and floor type on pododermatitis, spinal deformation, and bone quality in rabbit does. Animal 8(10), 1728-1734.

The most common housing system for reproduction rabbits, individual cage housing on a wire floor, is increasingly scrutinized because of its potential detrimental impact on animal welfare. We compared three types of housing: (1) individual...

Strittmatter, R. R., Ferraro, A., Tiano, D. 2014. Behavioral management approach to facilitate use of pen-housed nonhuman primates for toxicology studies. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 539 (Abstract #PS53).

Housing laboratory primates in large pens can improve welfare by providing ample opportunity to express normal social and locomotor behaviors. This type of housing, however, can present great challenges in terms of manipulating animals for...

Gottlieb, D. H., O'Connor, J. R., Coleman, K. 2014. Using porches to decrease feces painting in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). JAALAS 53(6), 653-656.

The goal of this project was to evaluate the efficacy of a porch in decreasing feces painting in captive rhesus macaques. The porch is a small extension that is hung on the outside of a...

Andrianjazalahatra, T., Honess, P. 2014. Use of visual barriers by breeding groups of long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis): An indication of color or location preference? American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 539-540 (Abstract #PS54).

Visual barriers have been shown to be valuable environmental components of nonhuman primate housing to break visual contact between conspecifics as well as between primates and their human keepers. The effect of visual barriers can...

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...

Reinhardt, V. (ed.) 2013. Compassion Makes a Difference - Discussions by the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum [LAREF], Volume III. Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, DC.

This is the third volume of discussions that took place on the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum (LAREF). This forum is dedicated to the exchange of personal experiences of refining the conditions under which...

Gottlieb, D. H., Capitanio, J. P., McCowan, B. 2013. Risk factors for stereotypic behavior and self-biting in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta): Animal's history, current environment, and personality. American Journal of Primatology 75(10), 995-1008.

Captive rhesus macaques sometimes exhibit undesirable abnormal behaviors, such as motor stereotypic behavior (MSB) and self-abuse. Many risk factors for these behaviors have been identified but the list is far from comprehensive, and large individual...