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. 
Hubrecht, R. C., Carter, E. 2019. The 3Rs and humane experimental technique: Implementing change. Animals 9(10), 754.

In 1959, the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW) Scholars Russell & Burch published the Principles of Humane Experimental Technique in which they laid out the principles of the Three Rs. However, the Three Rs...

Baker, S. W., Tucci, E. R., Felt, S. A. et al. 2019. A bird's-eye view of regulatory, animal care, and training considerations regarding avian flight research. Comparative Medicine 69(3), 169–178.

A thorough understanding of how animals fly is a central goal of many scientific disciplines. Birds are a commonly used model organism for flight research. The success of this model requires studying healthy and naturally...

Davis, J. N., Greer, W., Banks, R. E. et al. 2019. Postapproval monitoring practices at biomedical research facilities. JAALAS 58(4), 469-474.

Federal regulations and policies require institutions to establish procedures for ongoing IACUC oversight of approved animal care and use program activities including animal procedures. To fulfill these requirements, research institutions implement postapproval monitoring (PAM) programs...

Hankenson, F. C., Hallman, T. 2019. Investigator engagement: Somewhat radical considerations on practices to improve animal care program compliance. ILAR Journal 60(1), 58–65.

The authors discuss approaches to bolster investigator engagement, inviting investigators to be partners within the Animal Care Program. Regulatory burden in animal research endeavors continues to be reviewed and critiqued; therefore, this article intends to...

Mohan, S., Huneke, R. 2019. The role of IACUCs in responsible animal research. ILAR Journal 60(1), 43-49.

Primary oversight responsibilities of an institution’s animal program rests with its IACUC, which supports the balance of good science practices with good animal welfare. The IACUC, along with husbandry care staff, veterinarians, and research personnel...

Colby, L. A., Nowland, M. H., Kennedy, L. H. 2019. Clinical Laboratory Animal Medicine: An Introduction (5th ed). Wiley-Blackwell, Ames, IA.

The revised fifth edition of Clinical Laboratory Animal Medicine: An Introduction is an accessible guide to basic information for conducting animal research safely and responsibly. It includes a review of the unique anatomic and physiologic...

Carter, E. 2018. Updated Code of Practice for the welfare of meat chickens and meat breeding chickens in England. Animal Welfare 27(2), 181-185.

Much of the content in the 2018 Code is similar to that found in previous guidance documents: the 2002 Code of Practice for the Welfare of Meat Chickens and Meat Breeding Chickens, and the 2011...

Deurinck, M., Schindler, S., Bugnon, P. et al. 2018. Report from the 2017 Annual SGV (Swiss Laboratory Animal Science Association ) Meeting. Laboratory Animals 52(2), 211-213. [Meeting Report]

The Scientific Committee of the Swiss Laboratory Animal Science Association (Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Versuchstierkunde, SGV) reports on the Annual SGV Meeting held on 28 and 29 November 2017, at Technopark, Zürich, Switzerland. Feedback after the...

Egelkamp, C. L., Leahy, M. A., Ross, S. R. et al. 2018. Testing food preferences in zoo-housed apes with touchscreens. American Journal of Primatology 80(S1), 30 (40th Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists Scientific Program, Abstract #58).

Preference testing has many benefits, informing both applied management decisions and theoretical questions. We developed a preference‐testing method in which subjects are shown pairs of photographs of food items on a touchscreen in a forced‐choice...

Tjärnström, E., Weber, E. M., Hultgren, J. et al. 2018. Emotions and ethical decision-making in animal ethics committees. Animals 8(10), 181.

Ethical evaluation of projects involving animal testing is mandatory within the EU and other countries. However, the evaluation process has been subject to criticism, e.g., that the committees are not balanced or democratic enough and...

Koch V. W. 2018. Preventing adverse events at research facilities. JAALAS 57(6), 660–669.

In this article, adverse events are defined as events that lead to significant injury or illness, unrelieved pain or distress, or the death of an animal, excluding those caused by IACUC-approved research procedures. The ability...

González-Pech, P. G., Marín-Tun, C. G., Valladares-González, D.A. et al. 2018. A protocol of human animal interaction to habituate young sheep and goats for behavioural studies. Behavioural Processes 157, 632-637.

Animal habituation is key to obtain reliable data on behavioural studies but detailed procedures to achieve it are scarce. This study designed a set of actions to habituate sheep and goats to human observers. Pelibuey...

Wolfe, A. M., Rahman, M., McFadden, D. G. et al. 2018. Refinement and successful implementation of a scoring system for myxomatosis in a susceptible rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) model. Comparative Medicine 68(4), 280–285.

Myxoma virus is a member of Leporipoxviridae whose tropism is tightly restricted to lagomorphs. In susceptible Oryctolagus rabbits, the virus causes a highly lethal disease known as myxomatosis, which begins as a localized infection but...

Franco, N. H., Sandøe, P., Olsson, I. A. S. 2018. Researchers’ attitudes to the 3Rs—An upturned hierarchy? PLOS ONE 13(8), e0200895.

Animal use in biomedical research is generally justified by its potential benefits to the health of humans, or other animals, or the environment. However, ethical acceptability also requires scientists to limit harm to animals in...

Kliphuis, S. 2017. Humane Endpoints website huge success in Spain and the rest of the world. Laboratory Animals 51(2), 218-219.
The Humane Endpoints website ( www.humane-endpoints.info ) provides information and training modules on how to recognize humane endpoints in laboratory animals. This helps to prevent further distress in the animals by removing the animals from...
Pritt, S. L., Hammer, R. E. 2017. The interplay of ethics, animal welfare, and IACUC oversight on the reproducibility of animal studies. Comparative Medicine 67(2), 101–105.

Reproducibility in animal studies has been defined as the ability of a result to be replicated through independent experiments within the same or among different laboratories. Over the past few years, much has been written...

Mulcahy, D. M. 2017. The Animal Welfare Act and the conduct and publishing of wildlife research in the United States. ILAR Journal 58(3), 371-378.

In the US, the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) and its enabling regulations (AWAR) cover all warm-blooded animals used for research, testing, experimentation, or exhibition. The only exceptions, made in the enabling regulations, are for two...

Koch, C. S., Ballantyne, K. C., Tynes, V. V. et al. 2017. Training Rhea americana chicks to walk voluntarily across a scale; effect on the handler's time and the chicks' weight gain compared with traditional techniques: A pilot study. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 18, 69-75.

The purpose of this pilot study was to determine if Rhea americana chicks could be trained to walk voluntarily across a scale to be weighed. If the chicks were trainable, the following questions would be...

National Health and Medical Research Council [NHMRC]. 2016. Principles and guidelines for the care and use of non-human primates for scientific purposes. National Health and Medical Research Council: Canberra, Australia, 25 pp.

The Principles and guidelines for the care and use of non-human primates for scientific purposes is a revision of NHMRC’s Policy on the care and use of non-human primates for scientific purposes 2003 (the Policy)...

Westlund, K. 2014. Training is enrichment - And beyond. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 152, 1-6.

With regards to the issue of animal training in the zoo community, there is some debate as to whether or not it should be considered a type of environmental enrichment (EE). This article suggests four...

Speer, B. 2014. Normal and abnormal parrot behavior. Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine 23(3), 230-233.

Behavior and behavior-associated issues are an important part of psittacine medicine. However, many veterinarians have an approach to parrots from the basics of handling and restraint to their assessment of behavioral issues (e.g., feather plucking)...

Reinhardt, V. (ed.) 2013. Compassion Makes a Difference - Discussions by the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum [LAREF], Volume III. Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, DC.

This is the third volume of discussions that took place on the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum (LAREF). This forum is dedicated to the exchange of personal experiences of refining the conditions under which...

Rose, M., Everitt, J., Hedrich, H. et al. 2013. ICLAS Working Group on Harmonization: International guidance concerning the production care and use of genetically-altered animals. Laboratory Animals 47(3), 146-192.

Replacement, Reduction and Refinement, the Three Rs of Russell & Burch, are accepted worldwide as fundamental to the ethics of animal experimentation. The production, care and use of genetically-altered animals can pose particular challenges to...

Hrapkiewicz, K., Colby, L. A., Denison, P. 2013. Clinical Laboratory Animal Medicine: An Introduction (4th Ed). Wiley-Blackwell, Ames, IA.

Clinical Laboratory Animal Medicine: An Introduction, Fourth Edition offers a user-friendly guide to the unique anatomy and physiology, care, common diseases, and treatment of small mammals and nonhuman primates. Carefully designed for ease of use...

Perlman, J. E., Bloomsmith, M. A., Whittaker, M. A. et al. 2012. Implementing positive reinforcement animal training programs at primate laboratories. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 137(3-4), 114-126.

In the last decade several surveys of primate care and training programs highlight a common theme; despite scientific evidence that animal training can be effective in reducing stress, increasing efficiency and improving veterinary care, animal...