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. 
Bellini, L., Schrank, M., Veladiano, I. A. et al. 2023. Retrospective comparison of the effects of laryngeal mask and endotracheal tube on some cardio-respiratory variables in pet rabbits undergoing anaesthesia for elective gonadectomy. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 65(1), 10.

Endotracheal intubation in rabbits is challenging and supraglottic airway devices, such as laryngeal masks (LMA), represent an alternative as they are easy to insert, and do not stimulate the larynx requiring therefore a lighter plane...

Marks, C. A., Allen, L., Lindeberg, H. 2023. Non-lethal dose-response models replace lethal bioassays for predicting the hazard of para-animopropiophenone to Australian wildlife. Animals 13(3), 472.

Para-aminopropiophenone (PAPP) is a potent methaemoglobin (MetHb) forming agent used for the lethal control of exotic carnivores and mustelids. To assess the sensitivity of Australian wildlife to PAPP we developed an in vivo assay that...

Morton, D. B. 2023. A model framework for the estimation of animal “suffering”: Its use in predicting and retrospectively assessing the impact of experiments on animals. Animals 13(5), 800.

This paper presents and illustrates, with a working example, a hypothesis for the assessment of ongoing severity before and during an experiment that will enable humane endpoints and intervention points to be applied accurately and...

Ruvira, S., Rodríguez-Rodríguez, P., Cañas, S. et al. 2023. Evaluation of parameters which influence voluntary ingestion of supplements in rats. Animals 13(11), 1827.

Drug safety and efficacy studies frequently use oral gavage, but repetitive usage may cause problems. Administration through voluntary ingestion represents an opportunity for refinement. We aimed to develop a protocol for voluntary ingestion of gelatin-based...

Silva-Reis, R., Faustino-Rocha, A. I., Silva, J. et al. 2023. Studying and analyzing humane endpoints in the fructose-fed and streptozotocin-injected rat model of diabetes. Animals 13(8), 1397.

This work aimed to define a humane endpoint scoring system able to objectively identify signs of animal suffering in a rat model of type 2 diabetes. Sprague-Dawley male rats were divided into control and induced...

Warwick, C., Pilny, A., Steedman, C. et al. 2023. Mobile zoos and other itinerant animal handling events: Current status and recommendations for future policies. Animals 13(2), 214.

Mobile zoos are events in which non-domesticated (exotic) and domesticated species are transported to venues such as schools, hospitals, parties, and community centres, for the purposes of education, entertainment, or social and therapeutic assistance. We...

Williams, E., Hunton, V., Hosey, G. et al. 2023. The impact of visitors on non-primate species in zoos: A quantitative review. Animals 13(7), 1178.

Visitors are a prominent feature in the lives of zoo animals, and their presence can cause a range of impacts on zoo animals (typically classed as positive, negative or neutral impacts), commonly referred to as...

Macdonald, D. W. 2023. Mitigating human impacts on wild animal welfare. Animals 13(18), 2906.

Human activities negatively impact the welfare of wild vertebrates in many different contexts globally, and countless individual animals are affected. Growing concern for wild animal welfare, especially in relation to conservation, is evident. While research...

Miguelena Chamorro, B., Swaminathan, G., Mundt, E. et al. 2023. Towards more translatable research: Exploring alternatives to gavage as the oral administration route of vaccines in rodents for improved animal welfare and human relevance. Lab Animal 52(9), 195–197.

Oral vaccines are gaining attention for their ease of administration and ability to activate mucosal immune responses. However, preclinical studies using this route often require the use of gavage, which has limitations. In this comment...

Nicolis, I. N., Beale, C. N., Bidot, W. A. et al. 2022. Performance and consistency of circulating warm water blankets for rodents. JAALAS 61(1), 96-100.

General anesthesia as used for rodent research can have adverse effects on physiologic mechanisms. Thermoregulation is often greatly inhibited, with resultant deleterious effects on cardiac and respiratory function. These potential effects can be mitigated by...

Bartlett, J., Davies, J., Purawijaya, D. et al. 2022. Refinement of handling and dosing methods for rats and mice. Animal Technology and Welfare 21(2), 120-124.

Modified Handling for Mice: Handling mice by gripping the base of the tail has been shown to negatively impact animal welfare by increasing anxiety and aversion to handling. We aimed to refi ne the dosing...

Leconstant, C., Spitz, E. 2022. Integrative Model of Human-Animal Interactions: A One Health–One Welfare systemic approach to studying HAI. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 9, 656833.

The Integrative Model of Human-Animal Interactions (IMHAI) described herewith provides a conceptual framework for the study of interspecies interactions and aims to model the primary emotional processes involved in human-animal interactions. This model was developed...

LeFors, J. E., Anderson, L. M., Hanson, M. A. et al. 2022. Assessment of 2 hair removal methods in New Zealand white rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). JAALAS 61(3), 296-303.

Rabbits are frequently used as surgical models in research. However, studies assessing the effects of various hair removal methods on wound healing and surgical site infection (SSI) in rabbits are sparse. Here we evaluated the...

Zausinger, P., Schneider, B. M., Bauer, A. et al. 2022. Short communication: Do the tameness of the dams and the sex of the offspring have an influence on the “gentling” effect in laboratory rats? Journal of Veterinary Behavior 52-53, 45-49.

“Gentling” (soft touching, “taming”) has long-term effects on the behavior of laboratory rats (Rattus norvegicus). Our own studies showed that the use of a “gentling” program in the fourth and fifth week of life resulted...

Zevnik, B., Jerchow, B., Buch, T. 2022. 3R measures in facilities for the production of genetically modified rodents. Lab Animal 51(6), 162-177.

Sociocultural changes in the human–animal relationship have led to increasing demands for animal welfare in biomedical research. The 3R concept is the basis for bringing this demand into practice: Replace animal experiments with alternatives where...

Chesler, K. C., Motz, C. T., Bales, K. L. et al. 2022. Voluntary oral dosing for precise experimental compound delivery in adult rats. Laboratory Animals 56(2), 147-156.

Preclinical drug studies routinely administer experimental compounds to animal models with the goal of minimizing potential adverse events from the procedure. In this study, we assessed the ability to train adult male Long Evans rats...

Williams, W. O., Baneux, P. 2022. Humane Intervention Points: Refining endpoint terminology to incorporate non-euthanasia intervention options to improve animal welfare and preserve experimental outcomes. Laboratory Animals 56(5), 482-489.

Consideration of The Three R’s (Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement) is essential when setting Humane Endpoints; however, a common interpretation assumes that Humane Endpoints are timepoints to perform euthanasia. This interpretation is not always consistent with...

Hwang, S.-K., Tyszkiewicz, C., Dragon, M. et al. 2022. Introduction of gloved hand to cage induces 22-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations in male albino rats. PLOS ONE 17(11), e0278034.

Rodents emit ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) above the human hearing threshold of ~ 20 kHz to communicate emotional states and to coordinate their social interactive behavior. Twenty-two kHz USVs emitted by adult rats have been reported...

Reifenrath, J., Heider, M., Kempfert, M. et al. 2022. Buprenorphine in rats: Potent analgesic or trigger for fatal side effects? Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 64(1), 37.

With ongoing animal welfare efforts, multimodal analgesia is often recommended to implement in study protocols. Buprenorphine with very potent analgesic effect is a standard opioid for the use in this context in rats. In this...

Serrano, C., Antonio, J. 2022. Ultrasound guided surgery as a refinement tool in oncology research. Animals 12(23), 3445.

Refinement is one of the ethical pillars of the use of animals in research. Ultrasonography is currently used in human medicine as a surgical tool for guided biopsies and this idea can be applied to...

Sørensen, D., Cloutier, S., Gaskill, B. (Eds.). 2021. Animal-centric Care and Management - Enhancing Refinement in Biomedical Research. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.

The concept of the 3Rs (Refinement, Reduction and Replacement) has been used as a framework for improving the welfare of laboratory animals for the last half century. By establishing an animal-centric view on housing and...

Stevens, C., Hawkins, P., Smulders, T. V. et al. 2021. Report of the 2020 RSPCA/UFAW rodent and rabbit welfare meeting. Animal Technology and Welfare 20(1), 21-33.

The RSPCA/UFAW rodent and rabbit welfare group has held a one-day meeting every autumn for the last 27 years, so that its members can discuss current welfare research, exchange views on welfare issues and share...

Silva-Reis, R., Faustino-Rocha, A. I., Gonçalves, M. et al. 2021. Refinement of animal model of colorectal carcinogenesis through the definition of novel humane endpoints. Animals 11(4), 985.

This study aimed to define appropriate humane endpoints (HEs) for an animal model of colorectal carcinogenesis (CRC). Twenty-nine male Wistar rats were divided into two control groups (CTRL1 and CTRL2) injected with ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid...

Nunamaker, E. A., Davis, S., O’Malley, C. I. et al. 2021. Developing recommendations for cumulative endpoints and lifetime use for research animals. Animals 11(7), 2031.

Research animals are important for scientific advancement, and therefore, their long-term welfare needs to be monitored to not only minimize suffering, but to provide positive affective states and experiences. Currently, there is limited guidance in...

Bombail, V., Brown, S. M., Hammond, T. J. et al. 2021. Crying with laughter: Adapting the tickling protocol to address individual differences among rats in their response to playful handling. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 8, 677872.

In this Opinion paper, we consider whether current methods of tickling overemphasize the use of pinning (Figure 1) to which there may be a wider response variation than commonly acknowledged. We do not dispute that...