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. 
Sutherland, M. A., Lowe, G. L., Watson, T. J. et al. 2017. Dairy goats prefer to use different flooring types to perform different behaviours. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 197, 24-31.

Flooring is an important component of indoor housing systems for livestock as it can impact animal hygiene and welfare. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the lying and elimination preferences of goats...

Hempstead, M. N., Waas, J. R., Stewart, M. et al. 2017. Behavioural response of dairy goat kids to cautery disbudding. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 194, 42-47.

Behavioural changes associated with cautery disbudding of female Saanen dairy goat kids were assessed. At 4±2days of age, kids were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups: (i) disbudded with a cautery iron (CAUT...

Li, S.-R., Hao, X., Bi, J.-H. et al. 2017. Why do female desert lizards construct burrows to lay eggs? Behaviour 154(9/10), 1051–1068.

Many oviparous animals construct well-designed nests to provide relatively favourable conditions for their eggs and hatchlings, but the direct evidence that nest structure can determine their reproductive success is insufficient. In the present study, we...

Burton, D., Burton, M. (Eds). 2017. Essential Fish Biology: Diversity, Structure and Function. Oxford University Press: Oxford, U.K., 448 pp.

This book summarizes the basic features of living fish. It is introduced by a chapter on the diversity of a group which has over 30,000 species, the largest within the vertebrates, describing the classification systems...

Lidster, K., Readman, G. D., Prescott, M. J. et al. 2017. International survey on the use and welfare of zebrafish Danio rerio in research. Journal of Fish Biology 90(5), 1891-1905.

A survey was conducted regarding zebrafish Danio rerio use for scientific research with a focus on: anaesthesia and euthanasia; housing and husbandry; breeding and production; refinement opportunities. A total of 98 survey responses were received...

Rose, P. E., Nash, S. M., Riley, L. M. 2017. To pace or not to pace? A review of what abnormal repetitive behavior tells us about zoo animal management. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 20, 11-21.

Performance of abnormal repetitive behavior (ARB) is noted in many captive wild species. ARB can be categorized into 2 basic forms: those whose aim appears to be to compulsively reach an inappropriate goal and those...

Knapek, K. J., Adams, M. K., Ayers, J. D. 2017. What’s in our chamber of secrets? Python housing in a laboratory setting. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 5(4) (December), 16-19.

At Colorado State University we have an investigator who requested care for 2 different species of pythons, the green tree python (Morelia viridis) and the ball python (Python reguis), to study the pathology of an...

Carter, C. L, Adams, J. K., Czarra, J. A. et al. 2016. An incidence of pseudopregnancy associated with the social enrichment of rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculi). JAALAS 55(1), 98-99.

Here we describe a case of pseudopregnancy in a New Zealand White rabbit as a result of pair housing with an aggressive conspecific. Clinical signs included fur pulling and nest building that developed shortly after...

Wallace, P. Y., Asa, C. S., Agnew, M. et al. 2016. A review of population control methods in captive-housed primates. Animal Welfare 25(1), 7-20.

The success of breeding primates in captivity has led to a surplus number of animals in collections. This review examines published journals and key books to investigate the various methods of primate population control. Hormonal...

Önal, U., Langdon, C. 2016. Diet size preference of zebrafish (Danio rerio) larvae fed on cross-linked protein-walled capsules. Zebrafish 13(6), 556-562.

To optimize diet particle size for ingestion by zebrafish larvae, Danio rerio, a series of diet selection experiments were carried out using two different length classes: 5-day-old, first feeding larvae with a mean standard length...

Goodwin, N., Westall, L., Karp, N. A. et al. 2016. Evaluating and optimizing fish health and welfare during experimental procedures. Zebrafish 13(S1), S127-S131.

Many facilities house fish in separate static containers post-procedure, for example, while awaiting genotyping results. This ensures fish can be easily identified, but it does not allow for provision of continuous filtered water or diet...

Varga, Z. M., Wilson, C., Alestrøm, P. 2016. European Zebrafish Meeting 2015 Husbandry Session Report. Zebrafish 13(3), 230-231.

A workshop to address husbandry and animal welfare was held during the 9th European Zebrafish Meeting in Oslo, Norway, from June 28 to July 2, 2015. The husbandry workshop took place on Monday, June 29...

Hawkins, P., Atkinson, J., Birt, R. et al. 2016. Report of the 2015 RSPCA/UFAW rodent and rabbit welfare group meeting. Animal Technology and Welfare 15(1), 9-22. [Meeting Report]

The RSPCA/UFAW Rodent Welfare Group has held a one-day meeting every autumn for the last 21 years, so that its members can discuss current welfare research, exchange views on rodent welfare issues and share experiences...

Nichols, C., Wilson, C. 2016. Review: Zebrafish environmental enrichment. Animal Technology and Welfare 15(1), 23-25.

Recently environmental enrichment for laboratory housed fish has received increasing levels of attention from a variety of interested parties from hobbyists, through animal technologists and aquaculturists, to scientists. Over the last few years, the growth...

Blackledge, S., Goodwin, N., Clark, B. 2016. Assessing husbandry requirements of Zebrafish (Danio rerio) and Medaka (Oryzias latipes) using background literature and comparative information. Animal Technology and Welfare 15(3), 191-193.

Zebrafish are the most common species of fish used for research in the UK. However, the species Medaka is establishing itself as a complimentary species to the Zebrafish. Despite having similar husbandry requirements and physiology...

Fuller, G., Raghanti, M. A., Dennis, P. M. et al. 2016. A comparison of nocturnal primate behavior in exhibits illuminated with red and blue light. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 184, 126-134.

Over evolutionary time, light from the sun, moon, and stars has provided organisms with reliable information about the passage of time; but modern artificial lighting has drastically altered these cues. Evidence is accumulating that exposure...

Januszczak, I. S., Bryant, Z., Tapley, B. et al. 2016. Is behavioural enrichment always a success? Comparing food presentation strategies in an insectivorous lizard (Plica plica). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 183, 95-103.

Staggering food availability through a delivery device is a common way of providing behavioural enrichment as it is usually thought to increase the amount of natural behaviour due to the unpredictability of the food source...

Stevens, T. 2016. Biscuit feeder increases foraging in baboons and reduces biscuit waste. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 4(3) (September), 54-55.

At the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Department of Comparative Medicine, we have a large captive colony of Olive Baboons (Papio anubis). Environmental enhancement is an integral part of the Comparative Medicine Baboon Research...

Merrill, C., Ordile, J. 2016. Litter box training of rabbits housed in pens. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 4(1) (March), 44-46.

At Pfizer’s Pearl River site, rabbits are socially housed in pairs or triples in dog runs that have been converted into rabbit pens. The daily husbandry and maintenance of these pens, however, proved to be...

Baines, F. M., Chattell, J., Dale, J. et al. 2016. How much UVB does my reptile need? The UV-Tool, a guide to the selection of UV lighting for reptiles and amphibians in captivity. Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research 4(1), 42-63.

Guidance is almost non-existent as to suitable levels of UV lighting for reptiles and amphibians, or how to achieve satisfactory UV gradients using artificial lighting. The UV-Tool is a working document that seeks to address...

Prebble, J. L., Langford, F. M., Shaw, D. J. et al. 2015. The effect of four different feeding regimes on rabbit behaviour. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 169, 86-92.

Dietary composition and presentation impacts on the behaviour of animals, and failure to provide a suitable diet can lead to reduced welfare through the development of poor health, the inability to express normal behaviours and...

Nordmann, E., Barth, K., Futschik, A. et al. 2015. Head partitions at the feed barrier affect behaviour of goats. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 167, 9-19.

Space allowance at the feeding places often forces goats to feed in close proximity, that is, less than their individual distances. In consequence, agonistic behaviour may increase as well as stress and injuries, while access...

Buijs, S., Hermans, K., Maertens, L. et al. 2014. Effects of semi-group housing and floor type on pododermatitis, spinal deformation, and bone quality in rabbit does. Animal 8(10), 1728-1734.

The most common housing system for reproduction rabbits, individual cage housing on a wire floor, is increasingly scrutinized because of its potential detrimental impact on animal welfare. We compared three types of housing: (1) individual...

Monts de Oca, N., Diaz, L., McMahen, D. et al. 2014. The use of lean management principles to enhance a nonhuman primate environmental enrichment program. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 580-581. (Abstract #P122).

Sewage back-up and overflows in the rooms of our primate facility initiated an analysis of the factors contributing to the clogging of the drains. An investigation reviewing the materials responsible for the clogging of the...

Stevens, T. 2014. NHP wire biscuit feeder. Enrichment Record Dec 2, 2014 (online publication).

This apparatus is used for single-housed baboons of all ages. The device is a wire suet feeder used for birds and squirrels. It can be purchased from Walmart, Home Depot, etc. There are many sizes...