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. 
Thomas, M., Reynaud, J.-G., Ledoré, Y. et al. 2022. Enrichment in a fish polyculture: Does it affect fish behaviour and development of only one species or both? Applied Sciences 12(7), 3674.

Physical enrichment of structures has been used for the last decades in aquaculture to improve fish production and welfare. Until now, this enrichment has been practiced in fish monoculture but not in fish polyculture. In...

Walsh, Z. C., Olson, H., Clendening, M. et al. 2022. Social behavior deficiencies in captive American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis). Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens 3(1), 131–146.

Understanding how the behavior of captive American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) congregations compares to wild congregations is essential to assessing the welfare of alligators in captivity. Wild alligator congregations perform complex social behaviors, but it is...

Ikeya, K., Torisawa, S., Yamane, H. et al. 2022. Estimating the total length of Mekong giant catfish, Pangasianodon gigas, in an aquarium via stereo-video shooting and direct linear transformation. Zoo Biology 41(6), 554–559.

The Mekong giant catfish (MGC), Pangasianodon gigas, is one of the world’s largest catfish species. Endemic to the Mekong River system, the MGC is critically endangered. Six MGC were transported from Thailand to the Gifu...

Yamanashi, Y., Nemoto, K., Alejandro, J. 2021. Social relationships among captive male pygmy slow lorises (Nycticebus pygmaeus): Is forming male same-sex pairs a feasible management strategy? American Journal of Primatology 83, e23233.

Little is known about the social behavior of pygmy slow lorises, in particular, the social relationships of same‐sex individuals have rarely been investigated. The Slow Loris Conservation Center was built at the Japan Monkey Center...

Powell, A. 2021. Rubber net mesh reduces scale loss during routine handling of farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Animal Welfare 30(1), 19-24.

Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) are an economically and ecologically important fish species that interact with humans during farming, fishing and research operations. Routine handling in nets exposes fish to mesh and causes scale loss. To...

Hirskyj-Douglas, I., Kankaanpää, V. 2021. Exploring how white-faced sakis control digital visual enrichment systems. Animals 11(2), 557.

Computer-enabled screen systems containing visual elements have long been employed with captive primates for assessing preference, reactions and for husbandry reasons. These screen systems typically play visual enrichment to primates without them choosing to trigger...

Casey, K. M., Gore, F., Vilches-Moure, J. G. et al. 2021. Management of morbidity and mortality in a New Zealand white rabbit model of steroidinduced osteonecrosis of the femoral head. Comparative Medicine 71(1), 86-98.

Steroid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head (SONFH) is a condition documented in humans and animals exposed to chronic steroid administration. The rabbit has become a preferred animal model for investigating the pathogenesis and treatment of...

Ramos, J., Balasch, J. C., Tort, L. 2021. About welfare and stress in the early stages of fish. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 8, 634434.

In conclusion, the investigations carried out up to now demonstrate that during the early stages fish show high sensitivity to many types of stressors involving an array of responses to overcome alterations that could affect...

Lambert, K. 2021. DIY: Ice cream cone spiced foraging cups. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 9(1) (January/February), 36.

This DIY snack is great for NHPs and can be customized in a variety of ways.

Lambert, K. 2021. DIY: Ice produce blocks. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 9(2) (March/April), 41.

This great cool-down snack is ideal for group or singly housed swine or nonhuman primates (particularly in larger pen-style housing). This item can be customized for canines as well by modifying the liquid used and/or...

Berlinghieri, F., Panizzon, P., Penry-Williams, I. L. et al. 2021. Laterality and fish welfare - A review. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 236, 105239.

Humans interact with fishes in many contexts including aquaculture, scientific study and companion animals. In all of these contexts, fish welfare can be compromised through anthropogenic means. Concern for fish welfare has grown considerably in...

Coleman, K., Shapiro, S. J. (Eds.). 2021. Behavioral Biology of Laboratory Animals (1st ed). CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.

This 30-chapter volume informs students and professionals about the behavioral biology of animals commonly housed in laboratory and other captive settings. Each species evolved under specific environmental conditions, resulting in unique behavioral patterns, many of...

Vaglio, S., Kaburu, S. S. K., Pearce, R. et al. 2021. Effects of scent enrichment on behavioural and physiological indicators of stress in zoo primates. American Journal of Primatology 83(5), e23247.

Captive breeding is vital for primate conservation, with modern zoos serving a crucial role in breeding populations of threatened species and educating the general public. However, captive populations can experience welfare issues that may also...

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...

Martinic, G. 2021. Husbandry and healthcare of the Olive python (Liasis olivaceus). Animal Technology and Welfare 20(1), 44-50.

The article describes the care of the Olive python (Liasis olivaceus) including information on housing, feeding, handling, as well as the general health care of these animals. Some of the information presented is derived from...

Rácz, A., Adorján, G., Fodor, E. et al. 2021. Housing, husbandry and welfare of a “classic” fish model, the paradise fish (Macropodus opercularis). Animals 11(3), 786.

Thanks to its small size, external fertilization and fecundity, over the past four decades, zebrafish (Danio rerio) has become the dominant fish model species in biological and biomedical research. Multiple lines of evidence, however, suggest...

Fife-Cook, I., Franks, B. 2021. Koi (Cyprinus rubrofuscus) seek out tactile interaction with humans: General patterns and individual differences. Animals 11(3), 706.

The study of human–animal interactions has provided insights into the welfare of many species. To date, however, research has largely focused on human relationships with captive mammals, with relatively little exploration of interactions between humans...

Saiz, N., Gómez-Boronat, M., De Pedro, N. et al. 2021. The lack of light-dark and feeding-fasting cycles alters temporal events in the goldfish (Carassius auratus) stress axis. Animals 11(3), 669.

Vertebrates possess circadian clocks, driven by transcriptional–translational loops of clock genes, to orchestrate anticipatory physiological adaptations to cyclic environmental changes. This work aims to investigate how the absence of a light-dark cycle and a feeding...

Chmurska-Gąsowska, M., Sowińska, N., Pałka, S. et al. 2021. Non-invasive measurement of thyroid hormones in domestic rabbits. Animals 11(5), 1194.

Thyroid hormones are essential for metabolism, energy homeostasis and reproduction. Hormones can be measured in various biological source materials: blood, feces, urine, saliva and others. The aim of our study was to verify usefulness of...

Warwick, C., Grant, R., Steedman, C. et al. 2021. Getting it straight: Accommodating rectilinear behavior in captive snakes—A review of recommendations and their evidence base. Animals 11(5), 1459.

Snakes are sentient animals and should be subject to the accepted general welfare principles of other species. However, they are also the only vertebrates commonly housed in conditions that prevent them from adopting rectilinear behavior...

Ordóñez-Grande, B., Guerreiro, P. M., Sanahuja, I. et al. 2021. Environmental salinity modifies mucus exudation and energy use in European sea bass juveniles. Animals 11(6), 1580.

Changes in skin mucus production and composition offer a new means to study how fish cope with changes in the environment. We explored the utility of skin mucus as an indicator of physiological responses and...

Manthey, T., Nagel-Riedasch, S., Dülsner, A. 2021. The interactive stress assessment in basic animal science training. Animals 11(7), 2145.

In order to assess the extent to which the legally prescribed training for the acquisition of animal experimentation expertise provides scientific personnel with the necessary competence and expertise to carry out a correct harm-benefit analysis...

Whittaker, A. L., Golder-Dewar, B., Triggs, J. L. et al. 2021. Identification of animal-based welfare indicators in captive reptiles: A Delphi consultation survey. Animals 11(7), 2010.

There is an increasing focus on evidence-based welfare assessment by animal care staff in zoos, along with a strong interest in animal welfare by the zoo-visiting public, to the extent that this can influence their...

Zhang, Z., Fu, Y., Zhang, Z. et al. 2021. A comparative study on two territorial fishes: The influence of physical enrichment on aggressive behavior. Animals 11(7), 1868.

Intraspecific aggression is detrimental to body/fin damage, physiological stress, and other problems in aquaculture. Environmental enrichment has been proposed to have positive effects on fish aggressive behavior, physiological stress, and fish welfare, but there are...

Nagabaskaran, G., Burman, O. H. P., Hoehfurtner, T. et al. 2021. Environmental enrichment impacts discrimination between familiar and unfamiliar human odours in snakes (Pantherophis guttata). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 237, 105278.

Environmental enrichment has been found to significantly influence the cognitive abilities of a variety of mammalian and avian species, with effects ranging from positive to negative, however, these effects have been little studied in reptiles...