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 that include earlier publications) can be filtered by Animal Type, Setting, and Topic. Most publications older than 2010 can only be searched by keyword. 
Golledge, H., Richardson, C. (Eds.) 2024. The UFAW Handbook on the Care and Management of Laboratory and Other Research Animals (9th ed.). Wiley-Blackwell. 1040 p.

The latest edition of the seminal reference on the care and management of laboratory and research animals. The newly revised ninth edition of The UFAW Handbook on the Care and Management of Laboratory and Other...

Mantz, M., Pugerud, A. 2024. Overcoming the hurdles of lab animal enrichment: Natural behaviors vs. scientific need. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 12(1) (January/February), 32-34.

The Animal Resources Core (ARC) at the Abigail Wexner Research Institute (AWRI) at Nationwide Children’s Hospital (NCH) faces many of the same challenges other institutions manage in terms of enrichment for laboratory animals. A Behavior...

Cuttance, E. L., Mason, W. A., McDermott, J. et al. 2024. Comparison of three anaesthetic options to reduce acute pain response in kid goats. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 27(3), 465–476.

Three options for anesthetizing the skin around the horn bud of dairy goat kids were explored. Forty-five

Gatto, E., Lucon-Xiccato, T., Bertolucci, C. 2024. Environmental conditions shape learning in larval zebrafish. Behavioural Processes 218, 105045.

Growing evidence reveals notable phenotypic plasticity in cognition among teleost fishes. One compelling example is the positive impact of enriched environments on learning performance. Most studies on this effect have focused on juvenile or later...

Smith, K. C., Pierdon, M. K. 2024. Utilization of enrichment objects by growing pigs in a commercial facility and the impact on behavior and skin lesions. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 272, 106181.

Environmental enrichment is a way to provide growing pigs with a complex environment to explore and occupy themselves as they grow. Single point enrichment can provide some complexity to the environment while not having the...

Sneddon, L. U., Schroeder, P., Roque, A. et al. 2024. Pain management in zebrafish: Report from a FELASA Working Group. Laboratory Animals 58(3), 261–276.

Empirical evidence suggests fishes meet the criteria for experiencing pain beyond a reasonable doubt and zebrafish are being increasingly used in studies of pain and nociception. Zebrafish are adopted across a wide range of experimental...

Weeder, M. M., Kleinhenz, M. D., Reppert, E. J. et al. 2024. Comparison of firocoxib and meloxicam for pain mitigation in goats undergoing surgical castration. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 262(4), 498–505.

OBJECTIVE This study sought to determine whether firocoxib (FIRO) or meloxicam (MEL) was effective at providing analgesia after surgical castration in goats. ANIMALS 18 intact male crossbred goats (6 to 8 months old) were enrolled...

Byrd, K. A., Theil, J. H., Geronimo, J. T. et al. 2024. Pebble to the metal: A boulder approach to enrichment for Danio rerio. PLOS ONE 19(5), e0298657.

Zebrafish are an established and widely used animal model, yet there is limited understanding of their welfare needs. Despite an increasing number of studies on zebrafish enrichment, in-tank environmental enrichment remains unpopular among researchers. This...

Richardson, S. 2024. Primate enrichment categories: A literature review of current trends. Animal Behavior and Cognition 11(1), 87–100.

Environmental enrichment aims to enhance primate wellbeing by providing physical and mental stimuli to address the biological and psychological needs of individuals. However, lack of knowledge regarding the development of enrichment research hampers implementors and...

Van Damme, L. G. W., Ipek, N., Verwaeren, J. et al. 2024. Cage enrichment to minimize aggression in part-time group-housed female breeding rabbits. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 11.

In most rabbit farms, breeding does kindle and nurse their kits in single-litter cages throughout their entire reproduction cycle. However, the protective behavior can lead to aggressive displays and injuries when the does are housed...

Waghorn, N. 2024, April. Exploring enrichment enjoyed by Zebrafish. Animal Technology and Welfare 23(1), 64–65.

Many studies highlighted that gravel is a preferred enrichment of zebrafish, therefore we were keen to explore this anecdotal evidence further, to ascertain if the spatial distribution of the zebrafish was significantly linked to the...

Zapata Cardona, J., Duque Arias, S., David Jaramillo, E. et al. 2024. Effects of a veterinary functional music-based enrichment program on the psychophysiological responses of farm pigs. Scientific Reports 14(1), 18660.

Intensification of swine production can predispose pigs to chronic stress, with adverse effects on the neuroendocrine and immune systems that can lead to health problems, poor welfare, and reduced production performance. Consequently, there is an...

Farkas, M. R., Dorn, S., Muller, L. et al. 2024. Pharmacokinetics, fecal output, and grimace scores in rabbits given long-acting buprenorphine or fentanyl for postsurgical analgesia. JAALAS 63(3), 303–309.

The New Zealand white rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is a frequently used surgical model. Pain management after surgery is a critical aspect of animal welfare. Recently, a long-acting buprenorphine formulation (Ethiqa XR; EXR) was approved for...

Yang, P., Yang, S., Durham, L. B. et al. 2024. Evaluation of efficacy of 2 extended-release bupivacaine products in a porcine model of incisional pain. JAALAS 63(4), 422–427.

Extended-release (ER) local anesthetics are often incorporated in multi-modal analgesia or as an alternative when the effect of systemic analgesics may confound research. In this study, we compared the analgesic efficacy of 2 ER bupivacaine...

Moffitt, A. D., McDaid, K. 2024. Easy rabbit intubation for all: Ear canal camera as an economical alternative to video laryngoscope. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 12(4) (July/August), 16–19.

Endotracheal (ET) intubation is challenging in rabbits compared to other species due to their deep, narrow oral cavity, large incisors, and large tongue which hinders laryngoscopic visualization. When rabbit intubation is needed, a blind technique...

De La Garza, F., Long, C. T., Cannon, C. Z. 2024. Getting to the root of the problem…How to maximize swine environmental enrichment opportunities in the laboratory animal setting. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 12(3) (May/June), 30–35.

Swine rooting refers to the natural behavior of pigs to root or dig in soil with their snouts in search of food, roots, insects, and other edible items. This behavior is deeply ingrained in the...

Robinson, L. M., Weiss, A. (Eds.) 2023. Nonhuman Primate Welfare: From History, Science, and Ethics to Practice. Springer, Cham, Switzerland. 671 p.

This volume reviews the broad topic of welfare in nonhuman primates under human care. Chapters detail the history of primates in captivity, ethical and legal issues surrounding the use of nonhuman primates as entertainment or...

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...

Brando, S., Vitale, A., Bacon, M. 2023. Promoting good nonhuman primate welfare outside regular working hours. Animals 13(8), 1423.

Promoting good primate welfare outside of daylight hours is an important task. The responsibility to provide a complex environment and environmental enrichment is an essential element of primate wellbeing programs that should be approached from...

Digranes, N., Haga, H. A., Nordgreen, J. 2023. High and hyper: Fentanyl induces psychomotor side-effects in healthy pigs. Animals 13(10), 1671.

Analgesic effects of fentanyl have been investigated using behavior. The behavioral effects of fentanyl and possible serotonergic influence are largely unknown. We therefore investigated behavioral effects of fentanyl, with or without the serotonin antagonist ketanserin...

Franks, B., Gaffney, L. P., Graham, C. et al. 2023. Curiosity in zebrafish (Danio rerio)? Behavioral responses to 30 novel objects. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 9, 1062420.

Curiosity—the motivation to seek out information—has been studied widely across the animal kingdom. To investigate curiosity in zebrafish we presented 30 novel objects to groups of zebrafish housed in semi-naturalistic tanks (6 tanks; 10 fish/tank...

Fuller, M. 2023. Sensory enrichment for the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus). Animal Technology and Welfare 22(1), 44–46.

Common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) are New World primates that are found within the coastal rainforests of North East (NE) Brazil. They are a multisensory species, relying on all their senses to survive. It is the...

Jorge, S., Félix, L., Costas, B. et al. 2023. Housing conditions affect adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) behavior but not their physiological status. Animals 13(6), 1120.

Zebrafish is a valuable model for neuroscience research, but the housing conditions to which it is exposed daily may be impairing its welfare status. The use of environmental enrichment and the refinement of methodology for...

Lambertini, C., Grandis, A., De Silva, M. et al. 2023. The spritztube: A new device for extraglottic intubation of rabbits. Animals 13(1), 156.

The Spritztube (ST) is an extraglottic airway device developed for humans. The aim of the study was to design an ST for rabbits and to evaluate its feasibility. The study was divided into two phases...

Łapiński, S., Niedbała, P., Markowska, K. et al. 2023. The effects of age, size, and cage complexity on the behaviour of farmed female chinchillas (Chinchilla lanigera). Scientific Reports 13(1), 6108.

Even though chinchillas have been farmed for a century, there are not many studies concerning their behaviour in captivity or their optimal housing conditions, both of which are important factors in the assessment of their...