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. 
Eyre, R., Trehiou, M., Marshall, E. et al. 2022. Aging cats prefer warm food. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 47, 86-92.

The aim of this study was to determine if meal temperature of cat wet food affected the feeding preference of aging (>7 years of age) domestic short-haired cats. We examined a chunks in gravy product...

Stäbler, R., Patzkéwitsch, D., Reese, S. et al. 2022. Behavior of domestic pigs under near-natural forest conditions with ad libitum supplementary feeding. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 48, 20-35.

Today's livestock agriculture faces major changes in domestic pig husbandry—besides animal health and productivity, aspects of animal welfare and animal-friendly husbandry systems for pigs increasingly gain attention. To get a basic and current overview of...

Abazaris, J., Hashway, S. 2022. Vole husbandry at Colorado University Boulder. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 10(4) (July/August), 12-15.

Since they arrived at CU Boulder, we have learned a lot about the voles from the laboratory, other institutions, and our trial-and-error. We hope this information can be helpful to any considering adding voles to...

Adams, C. R., Park, T. J. 2022. The husbandry and management of naked mole-rats (Heterocephalus glaber). Laboratory Animal Science Professional 10(4) (July/August), 16-18.

Naked mole-rats (NMRs) have unique husbandry requirements that need to be considered when maintaining them in captivity. We have successfully maintained NMRs at the University of Illinois at Chicago for more than 20 years. This...

Baxter, E. M., Moustsen, V. A., Goumon, S. et al. 2022. Transitioning from crates to free farrowing: A roadmap to navigate key decisions. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 9, 998192.

There are animal welfare concerns about the continued use of permanent crating systems for farrowing and lactating sows, which is the most prevalent maternity system in global pig production. Greater societal attention in recent years...

Brando, S., Coe, J. 2022. Confronting back-of-house traditions: Primates as a case study. Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens 3(3), 366–397.

This review commentary focuses on traditional management practices and facility design with suggested improvements in non-public primate management areas, often called “back-of-house”, (henceforth BOH) in zoos, sanctuaries, and research facilities. Progress has been made toward...

Wallgren, T., Gunnarsson, S. 2021. Effect of straw provision in racks on tail lesions, straw availability, and pen hygiene in finishing pigs. Animals 11(2), 379.

Unfulfilled exploratory behavior in pigs has been linked to tail biting, which causes reduced performance and welfare. Provision of straw can reduce tail biting, but large straw rations can cause poor hygiene in pens. This...

Bushby, E. V., Dye, L., Collins, L. M. 2021. Is magnesium supplementation an effective nutritional method to reduce stress in domestic pigs? A systematic review. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 7, 596205.

In commercial pig production, stressful events are common and can have detrimental impacts on the pig's health and welfare, as well as on the performance of the farm. Supplementary magnesium may reduce stress, and subsequent...

Morrone, B., Bernardino, T., Tatemoto, P. et al. 2021. Indication that the presence of older conspecifics reduces agonistic behaviour in piglets at weaning. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 234, 105201.

Piglets weaned under commercial systems are greatly stressed by maternal separation, abrupt changes in the diet and mixing of litters. Intensive agonistic interactions exacerbate this challenge for piglets. We investigated effects of older conspecific presence...

Camerlink, I., Proßegger, C., Kubala, D. et al. 2021. Keeping littermates together instead of social mixing benefits pig social behaviour and growth post-weaning. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 235, 105230.

The importance of social stability and its influence on the expression of the social behaviour repertoire in domestic animals remains poorly understood, especially for affiliative behaviours and other putative socio-positive behaviours such as social play...

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...

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...

Bahnsen, I., Riddersholm, K. V., de Knegt, L. V. et al. 2021. The effect of different feeding systems on salivary cortisol levels during gestation in sows on herd level. Animals 11(4), 1074.

The aim of this study was to investigate herd cortisol levels as an indicator of stress during gestation in three different feeding systems. Twelve commercial Danish herds with 800 to 3050 sows were included, with...

Ceballos, M. C., Rocha Góis, K. C., Parsons, T. D. et al. 2021. Impact of duration of farrowing crate closure on physical indicators of sow welfare and piglet mortality. Animals 11(4), 969.

This study examines effects of opening hinged farrowing crates 4 or 7 days post-farrowing. Sows (n = 696) allocated to 3 treatments: PC—crate closed, T4—crate opened day 4, and T7—crate opened day 7 were assessed...

Robbins, L. A., Green-Miller, A. R., Johnson, J. S. et al. 2021. One is the coldest number: How group size and body weight affect thermal preference in weaned pigs (3 to 15 kg). Animals 11(5), 1447.

Housing pigs within their thermal comfort zone positively impacts productivity and performance. However, fundamental information on behavioral thermoregulatory responses of individual and group-housed pigs is meager. As a gregarious species, pigs prefer to be near...

Manell, E., Hedenqvist, P., Jensen-Waern, M. 2021. Training pigs for oral glucose tolerance test—Six years’ experience of a refined model. Animals 11(6), 1677.

Animal models of human diseases are important in biomedical research. When using animals for scientific purposes, the 3Rs (replace, reduce, refine) should be considered. Refinement of animal models is essential to ensure best use of...

Steagall, P. V., Bustamante, H., Johnson, C. B. et al. 2021. Pain management in farm animals: Focus on cattle, sheep and pigs. Animals 11(6), 1483.

Pain causes behavioral, autonomic, and neuroendocrine changes and is a common cause of animal welfare compromise in farm animals. Current societal and ethical concerns demand better agricultural practices and improved welfare for food animals. These...

Leonard, S. M., Xin, H., Brown-Brandl, T. M. et al. 2021. Effects of farrowing stall layout and number of heat lamps on sow and piglet behavior. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 239, 105334.

Farrowing stalls are used in the United States swine industry to reduce pre-weaning piglet mortality, enable efficient individual animal management, and decrease facility construction and operating costs. The quantity and quality of space provided for...

Tokareva, M., Brown, J. A., Woodward, A. et al. 2021. Movement or more food? A comparison of motivation for exercise and food in stall-housed sows and gilts. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 240, 105348.

Despite being phased out in the EU, several states in the USA and other select countries such as Australia, gestation stalls remains a common sow housing system worldwide. In Canada, the 2014 Code of Practice...

FELASA Working Group on Farm Animals: Berset, C. M., Caristo, M. E., Ferrara, F. et al. 2021. Federation of European Laboratory Animal Science Associations recommendations of best practices for the health management of ruminants and pigs used for scientific and educational purposes. Laboratory Animals 55(2), 117-128.

Most ruminants and pigs used for scientific and educational aims are bred not for these purposes but in a farm environment. Given the wide range of diseases that these species might have, ensuring that the...

Peden, R. S. E., Turner, S. P., Camerlink, I. et al. 2021. An estimation of the financial consequences of reducing pig aggression. PLOS ONE 16(5), e0250556.

Animal welfare scientists have accumulated knowledge and developed interventions to improve livestock welfare, but these are poorly adopted in commercial practice. Animal welfare interventions are rarely tested for economic viability and this limits their uptake...

Travnik, I. C., Sant'Anna, A. C. 2021. Do you see the same cat that I see? Relationships between Qualitative Behaviour Assessment and indicators traditionally used to assess temperament in domestic cats. Animal Welfare 30(2), 211-223.

This study into the behaviour of domestic cats (Feliscatus) aimed to assess the relationship between behavioural expressions obtained via the Qualitative Behaviour Assessment (QBA) and quantitative outcomes of temperament tests. Four behavioural tests were used...

Schmidt, T., Ferrara, F., Pobloth, A.-M. et al. 2021. Large farm animals used for research purposes: A survey on purchase, housing and hygiene management. Animals 11(8), 2158.

Background: Farm animals (FAs) are frequently used in biomedical research. Recommendations for the purchase, housing and health monitoring of these animals (sheep, goats, cattle and pigs) are still missing, and many institutes have developed their...

Vitali, M., Santolini, E., Bovo, M. et al. 2021. Behavior and welfare of undocked heavy pigs raised in buildings with different ventilation systems. Animals 11(8), 2338.

The present study aimed to evaluate animal welfare of pigs from the same farm, raised with two ventilation systems. The study involved 60 pens of fattening pigs, raised in two buildings: one naturally ventilated (NV)...