Refinement Database

To do justice to the diverse approaches to enrichment and behavioral management around the world would entail a discussion beyond the limits of this publication. Therefore, guidelines and regulations in a representative sample of countries...

These guidelines aim to provide information for investigators, animal care committees, facility managers and animal care staff that will assist in improving both the care given to farm animals and the manner in which experimental...

This column discusses the use of novel dietary supplements as environmental enrichment for rodents and rabbits. Items are commercially available from lab animal supply companies. The purpose of enrichment is to encourage behaviors that are...

The regulation of the use of animals for experimental and other scientific purposes and the determination of minimum required standards of animal care and accommodation within Europe is generally informed by recommendations and conventions at...

In Japan, the Architectural Institute of Japan (AIJ) provides guidelines for laboratory animal facilities and equipment. Guidelines are not legally binding but serve as the authority for proper facilities and equipment management. The first guideline...

The report sets out how to provide: optimal enclosure characteristicsand size; social housing; solid flooring and substrate; raised areas; refuges; gnawing objects and dietary enrichment; positive interaction with humans; toys and objects to manipulate; for...

The German law on animal protection might be more utilitarian than the American law. The legislators obviously tried to meet the needs of the animals. However, its poor definitions of main concepts such as pain...

On the basis of this paper's conclusions (White et al., 1989), the USDA decreased their cage size requirements and removed the increased space requirement for breeding guinea pigs. How well did the study determine the...

This article provides details to consider when preparing to use animals in biomedical research. The stress of transport and receipt of animals into a new environment mandate the need for a period of stabilization and...

A resource is provided for the creation of an institutional program that balances the scientific mission of an institution with the well-being of the animals used in support of the research. The concept of harmonizing...

Summary of a collection of articles pertaining to the topic of environmental enrichment.

The question was asked: "In your own experience, what is the least disturbing technique - from the subject's point of view! - of blood collection for rodents?" In summary, it is fair to conclude the...

In this article, laws and guidelines relating to rodent enrichment are reviewed, the natural behaviors of select rodent species are discussed, and an overview of widely used types of enrichment in laboratory rodent management is...

Normal behavior plays a key role in facilitating homeostasis, especially by allowing the animal to control and modify its environment. Captive environments may interfere with these behavioral responses, and the resulting stress may alter many...

Environmental enrichment for laboratory animals has come to be viewed as a potential method for improving animal well-being in addition to its original sense as a paradigm for learning how experience molds the brain. It...

Many aspects of the research animal's housing environment are controlled for quality and/or standardization. Of recent interest is the potential for environmental enrichment to have unexpected consequences such as unintended harm to the animal, or...

Environmental conditions such as housing and husbandry have a major impact on the laboratory animal throughout its life and will thereby influence the outcome of animal experiments. However, housing systems for laboratory animals have often...

Species appropriate environmental enrichment should be provided to improve both animal welfare and the quality of research data. For research animals, species-appropriate Environmental Enrichment (E2) can be considered as a function of the 3 Rs...

Expanding on the National Research Council’s Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, this book deals specifically with mammals in neuroscience and behavioral research laboratories. It offers flexible guidelines for the care of...

Many are critical of how regulatory testing practices have evolved and become established—critical both of the scientific rational and the animal welfare costs. The test of whether we are more enlightened than our predecessors will...

When attending veterinarians are not provided adequate job security by research institutions, there is no guarantee that they are reliable allies of nonhuman animals and implement the provisions set forth in the federal animal welfare...

The key conclusion from the group's initial discussions was that enough information was now available to make robust recommendations for animal care best practices. Implementation, not information, is therefore the critical issue [p.123]... Well-implemented enrichment...

If scientists are to have the privilege of being allowed to do painful experiments on animals, they must ensure that their experiments are beyond criticism.

The enrichment of the animals' environment will not likely affect the interpretation of the results, particularly if adequate controls are used. Appropriate enrichment methods can be chosen to be compatible with the aims of the...

Neonatal (early) handling (EH) and environmental enrichment (EE) of laboratory rodents have been the two most commonly used methods of providing supplementary environmental stimulation in order to study behavioral and neurobiological plasticity. A large body...