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. 
Wells, D. L. 2021. Paw preference as a tool for assessing emotional functioning and welfare in dogs and cats: A review. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 236, 105148.

Dogs and cats have been extensively studied of late in relation to their paw preferences, with both species showing preferential motor bias at the level of the individual. Over the years, a wide range of...

Ash, H., Smith, T. E., Buchanan-Smith, H. M. 2021. The long-term impact of infant rearing background on the behavioural and physiological stress response of adult common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 234, 105169.

Although triplet litters are increasing in captive colonies of common marmosets, parents can rarely rear more than two infants without human intervention. There is however much evidence that early life experience, including separation from the...

Hirsch, E. N., Andersson, M., Loberg, J. et al. 2021. Development of existing scoring systems to assess behavioural coping in shelter cats. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 234, 105208.

Assessing how cats cope with the housing and husbandry at shelters is an important part of maintaining good animal welfare. There are non-invasive methods to assess how cats cope with their environment. The aim of...

Ellis, J. J., Stryhn, H., Cockram, M. S. 2021. Effects of the provision of a hiding box or shelf on the behaviour and faecal glucocorticoid metabolites of bold and shy cats housed in single cages. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 236, 105221.

It is often stressful for cats to be placed in cages in a shelter and environmental enrichment (EE) of the caging is one mechanism for mitigating this stress. The behavioural style of 72 cats was...

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...

Vaglio, S., Kaburu, S. S. K., Pearce, R. et al. 2021. Effects of scent enrichment on behavioural and physiological indicators of stress in zoo primates. American Journal of Primatology 83(5), e23247.

Captive breeding is vital for primate conservation, with modern zoos serving a crucial role in breeding populations of threatened species and educating the general public. However, captive populations can experience welfare issues that may also...

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...

Reckendorf, A., Schmicke, M., Bunskoek, P. et al. 2021. Is harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) exhaled breath sampling suitable for hormonal assessments? Animals 11(3), 907.

Over the last decades, exhaled breath sampling has been established for laboratory analysis in various cetacean species. Due to their small size, the usability of respiratory vapor for hormone assessments was questionable in harbor porpoises...

Roubos, S., Louwerse, A. L., Langermans, J. A. M. et al. 2021. Retrospective analysis of the effectiveness and reversibility of long-acting contraception Etonogestrel (Implanon®) in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). Animals 11(4), 963.

Contraception is an important population control method for the colony management of primates housed in captivity. Etonogestrel (ENG) implants (i.e., Implanon®) are a widely used progestin-based contraceptive in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) with the theoretical...

Chmurska-Gąsowska, M., Sowińska, N., Pałka, S. et al. 2021. Non-invasive measurement of thyroid hormones in domestic rabbits. Animals 11(5), 1194.

Thyroid hormones are essential for metabolism, energy homeostasis and reproduction. Hormones can be measured in various biological source materials: blood, feces, urine, saliva and others. The aim of our study was to verify usefulness of...

Delfour, F., Vaicekauskaite, R., García-Párraga, D. et al. 2021. Behavioural diversity study in bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) groups and its implications for welfare assessments. Animals 11(6), 1715.

In the recent past, animal welfare studies have tried to determine the best animal welfare measures and indicators. Expression of behavioural diversity is considered a potential positive welfare indicator, and to the authors’ knowledge, it...

Manthey, T., Nagel-Riedasch, S., Dülsner, A. 2021. The interactive stress assessment in basic animal science training. Animals 11(7), 2145.

In order to assess the extent to which the legally prescribed training for the acquisition of animal experimentation expertise provides scientific personnel with the necessary competence and expertise to carry out a correct harm-benefit analysis...

Huettner, T., Dollhaeupl, S., Simon, R. et al. 2021. Activity budget comparisons using long-term observations of a group of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) under human care: Implications for animal welfare. Animals 11(7), 2107.

Zoos and aquaria must provide optimal husbandry conditions and the highest welfare standards for their animals. How the welfare state of an animal or a group of animals can be precisely assessed is currently under...

Úbeda, Y., Ortín, S., Robeck, T. R. et al. 2021. Personality of killer whales (Orcinus orca) is related to welfare and subjective well-being. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 237, 105297.

Questionnaires are very useful tools when it comes to assessing zoo based animal measures and caretakers of these animals (such as keepers, trainers and veterinarians) are in the best position to provide accurate answers to...

Nagasawa, T., Ohta, M., Uchiyama, H. 2021. The urinary hormonal state of cats associated with social interaction with humans. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 8, 680843.

Research to assess the relationship between cats and humans is in a nascent stage. Some studies have assessed the stress status in cats using physiological indicators, such as the cortisol hormone, but have not focused...

Soriano Jimenez, A. I., Drago, M., Vinyoles, D. et al. 2021. Play behavior in two captive bottlenose dolphin calves (Tursiops Truncatus): Ethogram, ontogeny, and individual differences. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 24(3), 292-320.

This research focused on different aspects of play behavior including ethogram, ontogeny, and individual differences, in one male and one female captive bottlenose dolphin calves (Tursiops truncatus) from November 2003 to June 2004. We presented...

Lambert, K. 2021. DIY: Acacia gum sealed paper straws. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 9(3) (May/June), 37.

This DIY snack is great for NHP and can be customized in a variety of ways.

Lambert, K. 2021. DIY: Dehydrated watermelon training chips. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 9(4) (July/August), 48.

This simple DIY training treat is great for NHP, swine, rabbits, rodents, and dogs. Note that dehydrated watermelon may resemble muscle tissue!

Benato, L., Murrell, J., Knowles, T. G. et al. 2021. Development of the Bristol Rabbit Pain Scale (BRPS): A multidimensional composite pain scale specific to rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). PLOS ONE 16(6), e0252417.

A species-specific composite pain scale is a prerequisite for adequate pain assessment. The aim of this study was to develop a multidimensional pain scale specific to rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) called the Bristol Rabbit Pain Scale...

Argüelles, J., Echaniz, M., Bowen, J. et al. 2021. The impact of a stress-reducing protocol on the quality of pre-anaesthesia in cats. Veterinary Record 188(12), e138.

Introduction: Transport to the clinic is a major source of stress for cats. The process involves being put into a carrier, driven in a car and handled. Cats are therefore removed from the safe-haven of...

Carter, M., Sherwen, S., Webber, S. 2021. An evaluation of interactive projections as digital enrichment for orangutans. Zoo Biology 40(2), 107-114.

Digital technologies are increasingly being incorporated into the provision of enrichment for captive primates, ranging from the ad-hoc use of iPads to specifically designed hardware installed in the design of new exhibits. In this article...

Archibald, W., Glynn, C. 2021. Refining cages for social housing of non-human primates on ADME studies. Animal Technology and Welfare 20(2), 172-174.

The assessment and understanding of Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism and Elimination (ADME) for new pharmaceuticals is required in regulatory submissions. Typically, ADME studies are conducted using metabolism cages designed for the single housing of animals to...

Peploe, J., MacAulay, C. 2021. Laboratory primate enrichment ideas. Animal Technology and Welfare 20(2), 177-183.

There are several items we often use in animal facilities that when finished with are thrown away. However, many of these items come in packaging that can be recycled as enrichment for our animals, particularly...

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...

Kimm, S., Rauterberg, S. L., Bill, J. et al. 2021. Use of space, active and resting behaviour in fattening rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) housed in a combi park system: A case study. Animal Welfare 30(4), 493-506.

In this case study, a housing system for rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) was developed, complying with the new German Welfare Regulation, and evaluated on-farm with regard to the rabbits' behaviour during four fattening periods. The housing...