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. 
Paredes-Ramos, P., Diaz-Morales, J. V., Espinosa-Palencia, M. et al. 2020. Clicker training accelerates learning of complex behaviors but reduces discriminative abilities of Yucatan miniature pigs. Animals 10(6), 959.

Animal training is meant to teach specific behavioral responses to specific cues. Clicker training (CT) is a popular training method based on the use of a device that emits a sound of double-click to be...

Saller, A. M., Werner, J., Reiser, J. et al. 2020. Local anesthesia in piglets undergoing castration—A comparative study to investigate the analgesic effects of four local anesthetics on the basis of acute physiological responses and limb movements. PLOS ONE 15(7): e0236742.

Surgical castration of male piglets without analgesia is a painful procedure. This prospective, randomized and double-blinded study aimed to evaluate the analgesic effects of four different local anesthetics for piglet castration during the first week...

Reinhardt, V. (ed.) 2020. It’s Okay to Cry - Discussions by the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum [LAREF], Volume V. Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, DC.

This is the 5th volume of selected discussions that took place on the electronic Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum between February 2016 and December 2019. The forum was created in October 2002; it allows...

Maschat, K., Dolezal, M., Leeb, C. et al. 2020. Duration of confinement and pen-type affect health-related measures of welfare in lactating sows. Animal Welfare 29(3), 339-352.

Temporary crating is considered as a step towards improved welfare in lactating sows. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate effects of confinement period (CP) and farrowing pen-type (PT) on health-related measures. Four...

Thoré, E. S. J., Brendonck, L., Pinceel, T. 2020. Conspecific density and environmental complexity impact behaviour of turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri). Fish Biology 97(5), 1448–1461.

Fish models are essential for research in many biological and medical disciplines. With a typical lifespan of only 6 months, the turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri) was recently established as a time- and cost-efficient model to...

Rydén, A., Manell, E., Biglarnia, A. et al. 2020. Nursing and training of pigs used in renal transplantation studies. Laboratory Animals 54(5), 469-478.

The pig is commonly used in renal transplantation studies since the porcine kidney resembles the human kidney. To meet the requirements of intense caretaking and examination without stress, a 2-week socialisation and training programme was...

Ceballos, M. C., Góis, K. C. R., Parsons, T. D. 2020. The opening of a hinged farrowing crate improves lactating sows’ welfare. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 230, 105068.

Concerns about the welfare of lactating sows housed in farrowing crates have emerged because crates physically restrict the sows and possibly compromise their behavior and comfort. The aim of this study was to identify how...

Freitas-de-Melo, A., Ungerfeld, R. 2020. The sex of the offspring affects the lamb and ewe responses to abrupt weaning. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 229, 105008.

Female lambs have a stronger attachment with their mothers and show a greater susceptibility to stressors than male lambs. Male lambs grow faster than female lambs do, achieving a greater nutritional independence from their mothers...

Loftus, L., Bell, G., Padmore, E. et al. 2020. The effect of two different farrowing systems on sow behaviour, and piglet behaviour, mortality and growth. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 232, 105102.

Farrowing crates have traditionally been used to reduce occurrence of piglet mortality as a result of sow crushing. However the utilisation of traditional farrowing crates has been suggested to contribute to negative welfare for both...

Masłowska, K., Mizzoni, F., Dwyer, C. M. et al. 2020. Qualitative behavioural assessment of pain in castrated lambs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 233, 105143.

This study investigates for the first time the application of Qualitative Behavioural Assessment (QBA) to the analysis of acute pain expression in castrated lambs. Eighty 2-day-old male lambs were allocated to one of 4 groups...

Munari, C., Ponzio, P., Macchi, E. et al. 2020. A multifactorial evaluation of different reproductive rhythms and housing systems for improving welfare in rabbit does. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 230, 105047.

The most widespread reproductive rhythm practiced in rabbit farming is based on artificial insemination (AI) performed at around 11 days pospartum. This approach results in high production rates, but requires high yearly replacement of animals...

Borell, E. V., Bonneau, M., Holinger, M. et al. 2020. Welfare aspects of raising entire male pigs and immunocastrates. Animals 10(11), 2140.

For a long time, scientists assumed that newborns have a severely limited sense of pain (if any). However, this assumption is wrong and led to a “start of the exit” from piglet surgical castration. Some...

Chou, J.-Y., Sandercock, D. A., D'Eath, R. B. et al. 2020. A High Enrichment replenishment rate reduces damaging behaviors and increases growth rate in undocked pigs kept in fully slatted pens. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 7, 584706.

One of the difficulties in complying with the prohibition of routine tail docking is a lack of effective alternative solutions to prevent tail biting, especially in fully slatted systems. This study compared three slat-compatible enrichment...

Ferrer, L. M., Lacasta, D., Ortín, A. et al. 2020. Impact of a topical anaesthesia wound management formulation on pain, inflammation and reduction of secondary infections after tail docking in lambs. Animals 10(8), 1255.

We examined several procedures for surgical tail docking; with and without general anaesthesia (GA), including the use of a topical wound gel formulation to provide pain relief (PR) and improve healing after surgery, containing local...

Grant, E. P., Wickham, S. L., Anderson, F. et al. 2020. Preliminary findings on a novel behavioural approach for the assessment of pain and analgesia in lambs subject to routine husbandry procedures. Animals 10(7), 1148.

The identification and assessment of pain in sheep under field conditions are important, but, due to their stoic nature, are fraught with many challenges. In Australia, various husbandry procedures that are documented to cause pain...

Morrison, R., Hemsworth, P. 2020. Tail docking of piglets 1: Stress response of piglets to tail docking. Animals 10(9), 1701.

This experiment compared the stress responses of piglets to tail docking. Two hundred and eighty-eight piglets were allocated to the following treatments at 2 d post-farrowing: (1) sham handling treatment; (2) surgical castration; (3) tail...

Morrison, R., Hemsworth, P. 2020. Tail docking of piglets 2: Effects of meloxicam on the stress response to tail docking. Animals 10(9), 1699.

This experiment compared the stress responses of piglets to tail docking. Two hundred and eighty-eight piglets were allocated to the following treatments at 2 d post-farrowing: (1) sham handling treatment; (2) surgical castration; (3) tail...

Navarro, E., Mainau, E., Manteca, X. 2020. Development of a facial expression scale using farrowing as a model of pain in sows. Animals 10(11), 2113.

Changes in facial expression have been shown to be a useful tool to assess pain severity in humans and animals, but facial scales have not yet been developed for all species. A facial expression scale...

Reynolds, K., Johnson, R., Brown, J. et al. 2020. Assessing pain control efficacy of meloxicam and ketoprofen when compounded with iron dextran in nursing piglets using a navigation chute. Animals 10(7), 1237.

The efficacy of analgesics such as meloxicam and ketoprofen to control pain in piglets when mixed with iron dextran (ID) before injection is unknown. The purpose of this study was to compare perceived pain in...

Sheil, M., Polkinghorne, A. 2020. Optimal methods of documenting analgesic efficacy in neonatal piglets undergoing castration. Animals 10(9), 1450.

Analgesic products for piglet castration are critically needed. This requires extensive animal experimentation such as to meet regulatory-required proof of efficacy. At present, there are no validated methods of assessing pain in neonatal piglets. This...

Andrews, D. D., Fajt, V. R., Baker, K. C. et al. 2020. A comparison of buprenorphine, sustained release buprenorphine, and high concentration buprenorphine in male New Zealand white rabbits. JAALAS 59(5), 546-556.

Pain management in rabbits can be difficult because they are adept at hiding pain and can be stressed by handling and restraint for injection. The use of opioid analgesics with prolonged durations of activity could...

Butler, J. L., Kennerley, S. W. 2019. Mymou: A low-cost, wireless touchscreen system for automated training of nonhuman primates. Behaviour Research Methods 51, 2559–2572.

Training nonhuman primates (NHPs) to perform cognitive tasks is essential for many neuroscientific investigations, yet laboratory training is a time-consuming process with inherent limitations. Habituating NHPs to the laboratory staff and experimental equipment can take...

Grimberg-Henrici, C. G. E., Büttner, K., Lohmeier, R. Y. et al. 2019. The effect of group-housing with free-farrowing pens on reproductive traits and the behaviour of low-risk and high-risk crushing sows. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 211, 33-40.

Free-farrowing systems and group-housing systems for lactating sows are sensitive systems and require an optimal interaction of different environmental factors to be successful. The aim of the present study was to compare sows’ reproductive traits...

Lohmeier, R. Y., Gimberg-Henrici, C. G. E., Burfeind, O. et al. 2019. Suckling behaviour and health parameters of sows and piglets in free-farrowing pens. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 211, 25-32.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of free-farrowing pens and farrowing crates on the health parameters and the suckling behaviour of sows and their piglets, which were housed in farrowing...

Yi, R., Wang, C., Zhang, X. et al. 2019. Maternal behavior, posture change, and production performance of lactating sows housed in an enriched environment. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 22(3), 298-308.

This study aimed to evaluate whether adding straw to a loose-farrowing house promotes maternal functions and production. Forty-eight sows (Landrace× Large White) were housed in either a farrowing pen without straw (C, n = 24)...