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. 
Önal, U., Langdon, C. 2016. Diet size preference of zebrafish (Danio rerio) larvae fed on cross-linked protein-walled capsules. Zebrafish 13(6), 556-562.

To optimize diet particle size for ingestion by zebrafish larvae, Danio rerio, a series of diet selection experiments were carried out using two different length classes: 5-day-old, first feeding larvae with a mean standard length...

Goodwin, N., Westall, L., Karp, N. A. et al. 2016. Evaluating and optimizing fish health and welfare during experimental procedures. Zebrafish 13(S1), S127-S131.

Many facilities house fish in separate static containers post-procedure, for example, while awaiting genotyping results. This ensures fish can be easily identified, but it does not allow for provision of continuous filtered water or diet...

Varga, Z. M., Wilson, C., Alestrøm, P. 2016. European Zebrafish Meeting 2015 Husbandry Session Report. Zebrafish 13(3), 230-231.

A workshop to address husbandry and animal welfare was held during the 9th European Zebrafish Meeting in Oslo, Norway, from June 28 to July 2, 2015. The husbandry workshop took place on Monday, June 29...

Hawkins, P., Atkinson, J., Birt, R. et al. 2016. Report of the 2015 RSPCA/UFAW rodent and rabbit welfare group meeting. Animal Technology and Welfare 15(1), 9-22. [Meeting Report]

The RSPCA/UFAW Rodent Welfare Group has held a one-day meeting every autumn for the last 21 years, so that its members can discuss current welfare research, exchange views on rodent welfare issues and share experiences...

Nichols, C., Wilson, C. 2016. Review: Zebrafish environmental enrichment. Animal Technology and Welfare 15(1), 23-25.

Recently environmental enrichment for laboratory housed fish has received increasing levels of attention from a variety of interested parties from hobbyists, through animal technologists and aquaculturists, to scientists. Over the last few years, the growth...

Blackledge, S., Goodwin, N., Clark, B. 2016. Assessing husbandry requirements of Zebrafish (Danio rerio) and Medaka (Oryzias latipes) using background literature and comparative information. Animal Technology and Welfare 15(3), 191-193.

Zebrafish are the most common species of fish used for research in the UK. However, the species Medaka is establishing itself as a complimentary species to the Zebrafish. Despite having similar husbandry requirements and physiology...

Fuller, G., Raghanti, M. A., Dennis, P. M. et al. 2016. A comparison of nocturnal primate behavior in exhibits illuminated with red and blue light. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 184, 126-134.

Over evolutionary time, light from the sun, moon, and stars has provided organisms with reliable information about the passage of time; but modern artificial lighting has drastically altered these cues. Evidence is accumulating that exposure...

Damasceno, J., Genaro, G., Sangaletti Terçariol, C. A. 2016. Effect of the presence of a person known to the cats on the feeding behavior and placement of feeders of a domestic cat colony. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 11, 31-36.

Knowledge of the organization and dynamics of the relationships between animals and the environment and its resources is important to meet the needs of any species. We analyzed the effect the presence of a person...

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...

Prebble, J. L., Langford, F. M., Shaw, D. J. et al. 2015. The effect of four different feeding regimes on rabbit behaviour. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 169, 86-92.

Dietary composition and presentation impacts on the behaviour of animals, and failure to provide a suitable diet can lead to reduced welfare through the development of poor health, the inability to express normal behaviours and...

Arhant, C., Wogritsch, R., Troxler, J. 2015. Assessment of behavior and physical condition of shelter cats as animal-based indicators of welfare. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 10(5), 399-406.

Surveillance of cat shelters by official veterinarians in Austria is based on legal requirements and does not directly assess cat welfare. The aim of this study was to develop animal-based parameters that are feasible to...

Modarressie, R., Gunther, C., Bakker, T. 2015. UV deprivation influences social UV preference in juvenile sticklebacks. Animal Behavior and Cognition 2(2), 186–199.

Social aggregations occur in many different animal taxa and mainly result from non-random assortment. Investigating factors that shape and maintain the composition of social aggregations are among others a main topic for understanding ecological speciation...

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...

Monts de Oca, N., Diaz, L., McMahen, D. et al. 2014. The use of lean management principles to enhance a nonhuman primate environmental enrichment program. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 580-581. (Abstract #P122).

Sewage back-up and overflows in the rooms of our primate facility initiated an analysis of the factors contributing to the clogging of the drains. An investigation reviewing the materials responsible for the clogging of the...

Westlund, K. 2014. Training is enrichment - And beyond. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 152, 1-6.

With regards to the issue of animal training in the zoo community, there is some debate as to whether or not it should be considered a type of environmental enrichment (EE). This article suggests four...

Stella, J., Croney, C., Buffington, T. 2014. Environmental factors that affect the behavior and welfare of domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus) housed in cages. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 160, 94-105.

Understanding environmental factors that affect the behavior of cats in cages is important if caretakers are to improve the welfare of confined cats. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of the...

Nowlan, S. Y., Burlingame, L. A., Na, J. et al. 2014. Toys and technicians: 2 keys to a successful enrichment program for singly housed felines. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 583. (Abstract #P132).

Social or group housing is well known as the ideal environment for maintaining cats in a research setting as it allows specific behaviors such as play, grooming, and climbing. When social housing is not possible...

Nicholson, G., Sheldon, E. L., Hamilton, J. et al. 2014. Sand pools as a novel enrichment for rabbits. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 571. (Abstract #P83).

For anyone who has housed rabbits in an artificial plastic environment, what to provide as a nonfood enrichment can be an issue. Nonfood enrichment, or environmental enrichment, can be any toy, engaging sights or sounds...

Collymore, C., Lawrence, C., Lieggi, C. 2014. Enrichment for laboratory zebrafish (Danio rerio). Laboratory Animal Science Professional 2(3) (September), 51-54.

This article discusses how behavioral management, enrichment structures, diet, and light cycle can be used to help improve the welfare of zebrafish.

Hawkins, P. 2014. Refining housing, husbandry and care for animals used in studies involving biotelemetry. Animals 4(2), 361-373.

Biotelemetry can contribute towards reducing animal numbers and suffering in disciplines including physiology, pharmacology and behavioural research. However, the technique can also cause harm to animals, making biotelemetry a ‘refinement that needs refining’. Current welfare...

Kurtycz, L. M., Wagner, K. E., Ross, S. R. 2014. The choice to access outdoor areas affects the behavior of great apes. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 17(3), 185–197.

Outdoor access is often cited as a critical component of appropriate housing for great apes in captivity, and although studies have shown that offering primates choices can improve welfare, choice to access specific areas has...

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...

Rehrig, A., DeMagistris, M., Callan, C. 2013. Refinements in laboratory cat management: While the humans are away, the cats will play! Laboratory Animal Science Professional 1(4) (December), 32-35.

Cats can be successfully housed in groups when given enough space in addition to sufficient feeding, elimination, and resting areas. Cats at the University of Rochester are utilized in vision research, and have titanium cranium...

Lockhart, J., Wilson, K., Lanman, C. 2013. The effects of operant training on blood collection for domestic cats. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 143(2-4), 128-134.

The impact of operantly training domestic cats to accept jugular blood collections in a dorsally recumbent (novel) position was assessed. Cats were assigned to one of three groups: Group 1 (N = 14): no training...

Hrapkiewicz, K., Colby, L. A., Denison, P. 2013. Clinical Laboratory Animal Medicine: An Introduction (4th Ed). Wiley-Blackwell, Ames, IA.

Clinical Laboratory Animal Medicine: An Introduction, Fourth Edition offers a user-friendly guide to the unique anatomy and physiology, care, common diseases, and treatment of small mammals and nonhuman primates. Carefully designed for ease of use...