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. 
Schipper, P., Nonkes, L. J., Karel, P. et al. 2011. Serotonin transporter genotype x construction stress interaction in rats. Behavioural Brain Research 223(1), 169-175.

A well-known example for gene x environment interactions in psychiatry is the one involving the low activity (s) allelic variant of the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) promoter polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) that in the context of stress increases...

Raff, H., Bruder, E. D., Cullinan, W. E. et al. 2011. Effect of animal facility construction on basal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal and renin-aldosterone activity in the rat. Endocrinology 152(4), 1218-1221.

Although loud noise and intense vibration are known to alter the behavior and phenotype of laboratory animals, little is known about the effects of nearby construction. We studied the effect of a nearby construction project...

Meller, A., Kasanen, I., Rukšėnas, O. et al. 2011. Refining cage change routines: Comparison of cardiovascular responses to three different ways of cage change in rats. Laboratory Animals 45(3), 167-173.

Cage change is one of the unavoidable routines in laboratory rodent care. However, cage change disrupts the rodents’ olfactory environment and can evoke stress reactions. In this study, the short-term cardiovascular responses to three different...

Krohn, T. C., Salling, B., Kornerup Hansen, A. 2011. How do rats respond to playing radio in the animal facility? Laboratory Animals 45(3), 141-144.

In the animal facility, a range of different sounds are present. On the one hand, rats and humans will regard sound and noise differently even within the audible range, but on the other hand mice...

Hawkins, P., Burn, C., Hurst, J. et al. 2011. Report of the 2010 RSPCA/UFAW rodent welfare group meeting - The effect of husbandry on welfare and promoting good practice. Animal Technology and Welfare 10(2), 105-114.

The RSPCA/UFAW Rodent Welfare Group holds a one-day meeting every autumn so that its members can discuss current welfare research, exchange views on rodent welfare issues and share experiences of the implementation of the 3Rs...

Research Department, RSPCA. 2011. Rabbits: Good Practice for Housing and Care (3rd edition).

This report describes what rabbits need in terms of social housing, enclosure size and type, and environmental enrichment. It also describes potential husbandry-related welfare problems and how to resolve them.

Harkness, J. E., Turner, P. V., Vande Woude, S. et al. 2010. Biology and Medicine of Rabbits and Rodents (5th Ed.). Wiley-Blackwell, Ames, Iowa.

The Biology and Medicine of Rabbits and Rodents provides concise, up - to - date, reasonably comprehensive information to anyone concerned with the health, care, and management of rabbits and rodents. The book is intended...

De Villiers, C., Seal, J. V. 2010. Solid floors versus wire floor housing for rats revisited: Influence of age and the presence of test boxes. Animal Technology and Welfare 9, 31-36.

Data did not reveal a clear preference for solid floors. Juveniles were found most often on wire floors while among adults, a preference for solid floors was apparent only in females, and only when a...

Cloutier, S., Newberry, R. C. 2010. Physiological and behavioural responses of laboratory rats housed at different tier levels and levels of visual contact with conspecifics and humans. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 125(1-2), 69-79.

Laboratory rats are typically housed in clear or opaque cages on multi-tiered racks. Clear-walled cages allow a view of the room and facilitate visual social contact with neighbouring rats but may induce anxiety due to...

Skoumbourdis, E., Coke Murphy, C. 2009. Studies and snack bites. Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) Quarterly 58(1) Winter, 12-13.

Veterinary technician Evelyn Skoumbourdis and environmental enrichment coordinator Casey Coke Murphy discuss proper feeding of small laboratory mammals.

Castelhano-Carlos, M. J., Baumans , V. 2009. The impact of light, noise, cage cleaning and in-house transport on welfare and stress of laboratory rats. Laboratory Animals 43(4), 311-327.

Human interaction and physical environmental factors are part of the stimuli presented to laboratory animals everyday, influencing their behaviour and physiology and contributing to their welfare. Certain environmental conditions and routine procedures in the animal...

Kasanen, I. H. E., Inhilä, K. J., Nevalainen, J. I. et al. 2009. A novel dietary restriction method for group-housed rats: Weight gain and clinical chemistry characterization. Laboratory Animals 43, 138-148.

Laboratory rodents are usually fed ad libitum. Moderate dietary restriction decreases mortality and morbidity compared with ad libitum feeding. There are, however, problems in achieving dietary restriction. Traditional methods of restricted feeding may interfere with...

Reed, B., Hawkins, P., Latham, N. et al. 2008. Report of the 2006 RSPCA/UFAW Rodent Welfare Group meeting. Lab Animal 37(5), 216-222.

The RSPCA/UFAW Rodent Welfare Group holds a one-day meeting every autumn to discuss current welfare research and to exchange views on rodent welfare issues. A key aim of the group is to encourage people to...

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...

Branson, E. J. (Ed.) 2008. Fish Welfare. Blackwell Publishing Ltd: Oxford, UK, 300 p.

Fish have the same stress response and powers of nociception as mammals. Their behavioural responses to a variety of situations suggest a considerable ability for higher level neural processing – a level of consciousness equivalent...

Onbasilar, E. E., Onbasilar, Í. 2007. Effect of cage density and sex on growth, food utilization and some stress parameters of young rabbits. Scandinavian Journal of Laboratory Animal Science 34(3),189-195.

The aim of the experiment was to study the effects of cage density (1, 3 and 5 rabbits per cage) and sex (male and female) on stress parameters of young rabbits. A total of 90...

Gonder, J. C., Laber, K. 2007. A renewed look at laboratory rodent housing and management. ILAR Journal 48(1), 29-46.

In this article, recent publications are examined to determine the potential impact of new scientific evidence on current practices for the housing and care of laboratory rodents. The discussion points out recent advances in technology...

Animal Research Review Panel. 2006. Animal Research Review Panel Guideline 21: Guidelines for the Housing of Guinea Pigs in Scientific Institutions. New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Orange, NSW, 55 pp.

Valuable recommendations for the species-adequate housing and species-approriate care of guinea pigs; topics include Housing (enclosure size, substrate, shelter, nesting material), Environmental Enrichment, and Husbandry (light, temperature, humidity, cleaning).

Conour, L. A., Murray, K. A., Brown, M. J. 2006. Preparation of animals for research -- Issues to consider for rodents and rabbits. ILAR Journal 47(4), 283-293.

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...

Huntingford, F. A., Adams, C., Braithwaite, V. A. et al. 2006. Current issues in fish welfare. Journal of Fish Biology 68(2), 332-372.

In common with all vertebrates, fish respond to environmental challenges with a series of adaptive neuro‐endocrine adjustments that are collectively termed the stress response. These in turn induce reversible metabolic and behavioural changes that make...

Burn, C., Mason, G. 2005. Long-term effects of cage-cleaning frequency and bedding type on laboratory rat welfare: A cross-laboratory study. Animal Technology and Welfare 4, 80-82.

Cage-cleaning frequency does not have a clear effect on welfare in male rats.

Bayne, K. 2005. Potential for unintended consequences of environmental enrihment for laboratory animals and research results. ILAR Journal 46(2), 129-139.

Many aspects of the research animal's housing environment are controlled for quality and/or standardization. Of recent interest is the potential for environmental enrichment to have unexpected consequences such as unintended harm to the animal, or...

Sharp, J. L., Zammit, T., Azar, T. A. et al. 2003. Stress-like responses to common procedures in individually and group-housed female rats. Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science 42(1), 9-18.

Mean resting HR values in the mornings prior to human contact were significantly (P

Sharp, J. L., Zammit, T., Azar, T. A. et al. 2003. Are "by-stander" female Sprague-Dawley rats affected by experimental procedures? Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science 42(1), 19-28.

The objective of this study was to test the hypotheses that female rats are stressed by being in the same room as animals subjected to common husbandry and experimental procedures and that the level of...

Patterson-Kane, E. G. 2003. Shelter enrichment for rats. Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science 42(2), 46-48.

Nest boxes are a simple and effective form of environmentalenrichment. Rats accept a wide range of nest-box types but have the strongest...preference for enclosed, opaque, thermoplastic boxes. ...Tubes have proven a relatively ineffective enrichment for...