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. 
Ausderau, K. K., Colman, R. J., Kabakov, S. et al. 2023. Evaluating depression- and anxiety-like behaviors in non-human primates. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 16, 1006065.

Depression and anxiety are some of the most prevalent and debilitating mental health conditions in humans. They can present on their own or as co-morbidities with other disorders. Like humans, non-human primates (NHPs) can develop...

Marks, C. A., Allen, L., Lindeberg, H. 2023. Non-lethal dose-response models replace lethal bioassays for predicting the hazard of para-animopropiophenone to Australian wildlife. Animals 13(3), 472.

Para-aminopropiophenone (PAPP) is a potent methaemoglobin (MetHb) forming agent used for the lethal control of exotic carnivores and mustelids. To assess the sensitivity of Australian wildlife to PAPP we developed an in vivo assay that...

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...

Turcu, M.-C., Paștiu, A. I., Bel, L.-V. et al. 2023. Minimally invasive sampling methods for molecular sexing of wild and companion birds. Animals 13(21), 3417.

Birds are highly social and must be paired in order to increase their welfare. Most bird species are monomorphic; therefore, molecular sexing helps provide appropriate welfare for birds. Moreover, early sex determination can be of...

van Zeeland, Y. R. A., Schoemaker, N. J., Lumeij, J. T. 2023. Contrafreeloading indicating the behavioural need to forage in healthy and feather damaging Grey parrots. Animals 13(16), 2635.

Contrafreeloading (CFL) is a concept that describes the preference of an animal to work for food even when identical food is freely available, and reflects an intrinsic motivation to engage in foraging-related activities. However, altered...

Bissonnette, P. B., Waterman, J. M., Petersen, S. D. 2023. The use of infrared thermography to noninvasively measure the surface temperature of polar bears during bouts of social play. Zoo Biology 42(1), 38–44.

Infrared thermography or thermal imagery is a noninvasive tool that can be used to measure the temperature of surfaces. Typically, thermal imagery is used for construction or military purposes but is increasingly used as a...

Cambrelen, D., Nelson Slater, M. 2023. Case study: Modifying repetitive behavior in a polar bear (Ursus maritimus). Zoo Biology 42(3), 390–396.

Stereotypic pacing in zoo-housed carnivores has been intensively researched for decades, revealing that it is a subtly complex behavior with a highly variable etiology. While pacing can be an indicator of poor welfare, it can...

Ghavamian, Y., Minier, D. E., Jaffe, K. E. 2023. Effects of complex feeding enrichment on the behavior of captive Malayan sun bears (Helarctos malayanus). Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 26(4), 670–684.

All zoos grapple with challenges of keeping captive animals engaged in natural behaviors, especially for bears which prove to be among the more challenging species to keep stimulated. In captivity, a common indicator of poor...

Hube, D., van Meegen, C., Herbrandt, S. et al. 2023. Hair corticosterone concentration as a potential stress marker in pet rabbits. Veterinary Record 193(9), e3464.

Background As a prey species, rabbits tend to hide their illnesses and injuries. Consequently, pet rabbit owners often do not notice that their pet may be suffering. Methods Data on the housing and health of...

Mahdavi, I., Abdi-Hachesoo, B., Ansari-Lari, M. et al. 2023. Prevalence and risk factors of feather damaging behavior in companion parrots: A cross-sectional study in Iran. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 266, 106028.

A cross-sectional study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of feather damaging behavior (FDB) and evaluate the related risk factors among companion psittacine birds in Iran. For data collection, a structured questionnaire was prepared and...

Lutz, C. K., Coleman, K., Hopper, L.M. et al. 2022. Nonhuman primate abnormal behavior: Etiology, assessment, and treatment. American Journal of Primatology 84(6), e23380.

Across captive settings, nonhuman primates may develop an array of abnormal behaviors including stereotypic and self-injurious behavior. Abnormal behavior can indicate a state of poor welfare, since it is often associated with a suboptimal environment...

Bernstein‐Kurtycz, L. M., Wiatroski, K. G., Leeds, A. et al. 2022. About pace: How variations in method and definition affect quantification of pacing in bears. Zoo Biology 41(4), 365-372.

Repetitive pacing behavior is exhibited by many species in zoos and is particularly prevalent in carnivores with large home ranges, such as bears. Pacing can be a behavioral indicator of poor welfare, however, understanding this...

Fernandez, E. J. 2021. Appetitive search behaviors and stereotypies in polar bears (Ursus maritimus). Behavioural Processes 182, 104299.

Stereotypies in captive animals have been defined as repetitive, largely invariant patterns of behavior that serve no obvious goal or function. Stereotypies are commonly attributed to boredom or stress and are typically treated by enriching...

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...

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...

Mellor, E. L., McDonald Kinkaid, H. K., Mendl, M. T. et al. 2021. Nature calls: Intelligence and natural foraging style predict poor welfare in captive parrots. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 288(1960), 20211952

Understanding why some species thrive in captivity, while others struggle to adjust, can suggest new ways to improve animal care. Approximately half of all Psittaciformes, a highly threatened order, live in zoos, breeding centres and...

Bernstein-Kurtycz, L. M., Koester, D. C., Snyder, R. J. et al. 2021. “Bearly” changing with the seasons: Bears of five species show few behavioral changes across seasons and at varying visitor densities. Animal Behavior and Cognition 8(4), 538–557.

In natural environments, bear behavior follows seasonal patterns but the zoo environment differs from the natural environment in several ways, including the presence of zoo visitors. Although typically difficult to disentangle, we were able to...

Anderson, J., Kaplan-Stein, S., Adolph, S. et al. 2020. Assessment of non-contact infrared thermometer measurement sites in birds. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 23(2), 131-139.

The standard method of obtaining body temperature in a bird can be a stressful event, making routine evaluations challenging. Twenty-eight privately owned birds in good health were enrolled in the study to compare digital and...

Fangmeier, M. L., Burns, A. L., Melfi, V. A. et al. 2020. Foraging enrichment alleviates oral repetitive behaviors in captive red-tailed black cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus banksii). Zoo Biology 39(1), 3-12.

The relationship between inadequate foraging opportunities and the expression of oral repetitive behaviors has been well documented in many production animal species. However, this relationship has been less-well examined in zoo-housed animals, particularly avian species...

Hammond, C. 2020. Comparing the frequency of stereotypical and non-stereotypical behaviours in captive brown bears (Ursus arctos arctos) at The Wildwood Trust. RATEL (Journal of the Association of British and Irish Wild Animal Keepers) 47(1), 4-7.

Zoos play an important role in conservation, participating in captive breeding programmes and scientific research. The research can be shared and inform practice in the field and zoos. A behavioural observation study was conducted on...

Reinhardt, V. (ed.) 2020. It’s Okay to Cry - Discussions by the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum [LAREF], Volume V. Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, DC.

This is the 5th volume of selected discussions that took place on the electronic Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum between February 2016 and December 2019. The forum was created in October 2002; it allows...

Michaels, C. J., Gini, B. F., Clifforde, L. 2020. A persistent abnormal repetitive behaviour in a false water cobra (Hydrodynastes gigas). Animal Welfare 29(4), 371-378.

Stereotypies (a subset of Abnormal Repetitive Behaviour [ARB]) are characterised by an unchanging pattern of behaviour and in captive animals can be associated with poor welfare. Although well known in certain taxa, little is known...

Acharya, R., Rault, J.-L. 2020. Risk factors for feather-damaging behavior in companion parrots: A social media study. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 40, 43-49.

Studies on the etiology of behavioral problems often involve interference in the animal's routine or reliance on owners' self-reports like surveys. Gathering data from videos posted on social media, a technique coined ‘video mining’, offers...