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. 
Chakkingal Bhaskaran, B., Meyermans, R., Gorssen, W. et al. 2023. A comparative study on the effect of euthanasia methods and sample storage conditions on RNA yield and quality in porcine tissues. Animals 13(4), 698.
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...

Söderquist, A., Wallenbeck, A., Lindahl, C. 2023. Social support in a novel situation aimed for stunning and euthanasia of pigs may be increased by familiar pigs—A behavioural study with weaners. Animals 13(3), 481.

The common method of stunning pigs using high concentration carbon dioxide prior to slaughter poses an animal welfare issue, as the gas is aversive. Proof of concept for using nitrogen gas encapsulated in high-expansion foam...

Warwick, C., Pilny, A., Steedman, C. et al. 2023. Mobile zoos and other itinerant animal handling events: Current status and recommendations for future policies. Animals 13(2), 214.

Mobile zoos are events in which non-domesticated (exotic) and domesticated species are transported to venues such as schools, hospitals, parties, and community centres, for the purposes of education, entertainment, or social and therapeutic assistance. We...

Williams, E., Hunton, V., Hosey, G. et al. 2023. The impact of visitors on non-primate species in zoos: A quantitative review. Animals 13(7), 1178.

Visitors are a prominent feature in the lives of zoo animals, and their presence can cause a range of impacts on zoo animals (typically classed as positive, negative or neutral impacts), commonly referred to as...

Bertin, A., Mulot, B., Nowak, R. et al. 2023. Captive blue-and-yellow macaws (Ara ararauna) show facial indicators of positive affect when reunited with their caregiver. Behavioural Processes 206, 104833.

In mammals, human-animal bonding is recognized as a source of positive affect for companion or farm animals. Because this remains unexplored in birds, we investigated captive parrots’ perspective of the human-animal relationship. We used a...

Costa, G. L., Spadola, F., Di Pietro, S. et al. 2023. Tramadol vs. Lidocaine administered intraperitoneally and in incisional lines for the intraoperative and postoperative pain management of romifidine-telazol-anesthetized swine undergoing umbilical hernia repair. Animals 13(18), 2905.

The aim of the study was to compare the analgesic efficacy of tramadol and lidocaine for local anesthesia during umbilical hernia repair in swine. The study was performed on 66 large white crossbred swine. The...

Ferreira, M. F., Fàbrega, E., Pires, I. et al. 2023. Agonic aspiration of blood: Not useful as an animal-based indicator of electrical stunning ineffectiveness in pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus). Animals 13(14), 2292.

Agonic aspiration of blood (AAB) may result from an inadequate exsanguination with accidental trachea severing, that can be favoured by ineffective stunning of pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus). This study aimed to evaluate AAB as an...

Hognestad, B. W., Digranes, N., Opsund, V. G. et al. 2023. CO2 stunning in pigs: Physiological deviations at onset of excitatory behaviour. Animals 13(14), 2387.

Stunning by carbon dioxide (CO2) inhalation is controversial because it is associated with vigorous movements and behaviours which may or may not be conscious reactions. Furthermore, it is unknown whether some behaviours might indicate the...

Trujanovic, R., Rohrbach, H. 2023. Ultrasound-guided block of the sciatic and the femoral nerves in rabbits—A descriptive anatomical study. Animals 13(14), 2393.

The rabbit is a popular animal model for human biomechanical research involving surgery on the hind limb. Mortality is higher in rabbits when undergoing general anesthesia compared to dogs and cats. Moreover, due to their...

Acharya, R. Y., Hemsworth, P. H., Coleman, G. J. et al. 2022. The animal-human interface in farm animal production: Animal fear, stress, reproduction and welfare. Animals 12(4), 487.

A negative human-animal relationship (HAR) from the perspective of the animal is a limiting factor affecting farm animal welfare, as well as farm animal productivity. Research in farm animals has elucidated sequential relationships between stockperson...

Kieffer, J. D., Campler, M. R., Cheng, T.-Y. et al. 2022. Evaluation of a water-based medium-expansion foam depopulation method in suckling and finisher pigs. Animals 12(8), 1041.

The threat of foreign animal disease introduction through contaminated animal products, feed ingredients, and wildlife vectors have highlighted the need for additional approved methods for mass depopulation of swine under emergency scenarios, especially methods that...

Miller, A. L., Clarkson, J. M., Quigley, C. et al. 2022. Evaluating pain and analgesia effectiveness following routine castration in rabbits using behavior and facial expressions. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 9, 782486.

Prevention of pain in rabbits is a priority for both welfare and validity of scientific data. We aimed to determine if the rabbit grimace scale (RbtGS) could be used as a viable, rapid assessment tool...

Windsor, P. A. 2022. Role of topical anaesthesia in pain management of farm animals, a changing paradigm. Animals 12(18), 2459.

Field evidence indicates that livestock producers are motivated by access to products that readily deliver pain management during husbandry interventions and, more recently, viral epidermal infectious diseases, including FMD. There has been impressive adoption in...

Korenyi-Both, J., Vidaurre, J., Held, T. et al. 2022. Description of electroencephalographic data gathered using water-based medium-expansion foam as a depopulation method for nursery pigs. Scientific Reports 12(1), 16798.

The United States’ swine industry is under constant threat of foreign animal diseases, which may emerge without warning due to the globalized transportation networks moving people, animals, and products. Therefore, having disease control and elimination...

Korenyi-Both, J., Vidaurre, J., Held, T. et al. 2022. Description of electroencephalographic data gathered using water-based medium-expansion foam as a depopulation method for nursery pigs. Scientific Reports 12(1), 16798.

The United States’ swine industry is under constant threat of foreign animal diseases, which may emerge without warning due to the globalized transportation networks moving people, animals, and products. Therefore, having disease control and elimination...

Martin, J. E., Baxter, E. M., Clarkson, J. M. et al. 2022. Characterizing candidate decompression rates for hypobaric hypoxic stunning of pigs. Part 1: Reflexive behavior and physiological responses. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 9, 1027878.

Alternatives to carbon dioxide (CO2) stunning for the commercial slaughter of pigs are urgently needed because there is robust evidence that exposing pigs to hypercapnic environments is associated with pain, fear, and distress. Hypobaric hypoxia...

Hepps Keeney, C., Harrison, T. M. 2022. Euthanasia complications in non-domestic species. Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens 3(4), 616–623.

There are very few studies describing euthanasia complications in non-domestic species. The goal of this study was to survey veterinarians to determine what complications may commonly occur during the euthanasia of non-domestic species. An online...

Husheer, J., Luepke, M., Dziallas, P. et al. 2021. Electrocution as an alternative euthanasia method to blunt force trauma to the head followed by exsanguination for non-viable piglets. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 62, 67.

On farms, the currently approved and most widely practised method of euthanising non-viable piglets is blunt force trauma to the head followed by exsanguination. However, the use of this method is criticised due to public...

Luna, D., González, C., Byrd, C. J. et al. 2021. Do domestic pigs acquire a positive perception of humans through observational social learning? Animals 11(1), 127.

Farm animals can perceive humans positively by observing another animal being positively handled. This study evaluated whether pigs acquire a positive perception of humans after observing either a high or low socially ranked conspecific receiving...

Hayes, M. E., Hemsworth, L. M., Morrison, R. S. et al. 2021. Effects of positive human contact during gestation on the behaviour, physiology and reproductive performance of sows. Animals 11(1), 214.

Previous positive interactions with humans may ameliorate the stress response of farm animals to aversive routine practices such as painful or stressful procedures, particularly those associated with stockpeople. We studied the effects of positive handling...

Ly, L. H., & Weary, D. M. 2021. Facial expression in humans as a measure of empathy towards farm animals in pain. PLOS ONE 16(3), e0247808.

People often express concern for the welfare of farm animals, but research on this topic has relied upon self-report. Facial expressions provide a quantifiable measure of emotional response that may be less susceptible to social...

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...

Rooney, H. B., Schmitt, O., Courty, A. et al. 2021. Like mother like child: Do fearful sows have fearful piglets? Animals 11(5), 1232.

Gestational and early life experiences affect subsequent behavioural and physical development. The objective of the current study was to investigate associations between gilts’ fear of humans, gestational stress level, and feeding and maternal behaviour, as...

Hayes, M. E., Hemsworth, L. M., Morrison, R. S. et al. 2021. Positive human contact and housing systems impact the responses of piglets to various stressors. Animals 11(6), 1619.

This experiment studied the effects of lactation housing systems and human interaction on piglets’ responses to routine stressors. Forty litters of piglets were reared in either a standard farrowing crate (FC) or a loose farrowing...