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. 
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...

Sands, C., Evans, C., Buckmaster, C. A. 2017. The grooming sleeve: Encouraging conspecific-like behavior and strengthening the human-animal bond. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 5(2) (June), 52-53.

The act of grooming has been found to greatly decrease stress, heart rate, and cortisol levels in nonhuman primates; this decrease in stress and cortisol is seen in the animal being groomed, as well as...

Daoudi, S., Badihi, G., Buchanan-Smith, H. 2017. Is mixed-species living cognitively enriching? Enclosure use and welfare in two captive groups of tufted capuchins (Sapajus apella) and squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus). Animal Behavior and Cognition 4(1).

Non-human primates have complex relationships with conspecifics and also other animals with whom they share their habitat in the wild. Some primates, such as capuchin monkeys (Sapajus apella) and squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus), naturally associate...

Riley, J. L., Noble, D. W. A., Byrne, R. W. et al. 2017. Does social environment influence learning ability in a family-living lizard? Animal Cognition 20(3), 449–458.

Early developmental environment can have profound effects on individual physiology, behaviour, and learning. In birds and mammals, social isolation during development is known to negatively affect learning ability; yet in other taxa, like reptiles, the...

Brown, J. L., Paris, S., Prado-Oviedo, N. A. 2016. Reproductive health assessment of female elephants in North American zoos and association of husbandry practices with reproductive dysfunction in African Elephants (Loxodonta africana). PLOS ONE 11(7), e0145673.

As part of a multi-institutional study of zoo elephant welfare, we evaluated female elephants managed by zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and applied epidemiological methods to determine what factors in the...

Holdgate, M. R., Meehan, C. L., Hogan, J. N. et al. 2016. Walking behavior of zoo elephants: Associations between GPS-measured daily walking distances and environmental factors, social factors, and welfare indicators. PLOS ONE 11(7), e0150331.

Research with humans and other animals suggests that walking benefits physical health. Perhaps because these links have been demonstrated in other species, it has been suggested that walking is important to elephant welfare, and that...

Meehan, C. L., Hogan, J. N., Bonaparte-Saller, M. K. et al. 2016. Housing and social environments of African (Loxodonta africana) and Asian (Elephas maximus) elephants in North American zoos. PLOS ONE 11(7), e0146703.

We evaluated 255 African (Loxodonta africana) and Asian (Elephas maximus) elephants living in 68 North American zoos over one year to quantify housing and social variables. All parameters were quantified for the both the day...

Holdgate, M. R., Meehan, C. L., Hogan, J. N. et al. 2016. Recumbence behavior in zoo elephants: Determination of patterns and frequency of recumbent rest and associated environmental and social factors. PLOS ONE 11(7), e0153301.

Resting behaviors are an essential component of animal welfare but have received little attention in zoological research. African savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana) and Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) rest includes recumbent postures, but no large-scale investigation...

Averós, X., Beltrán de Heredia I., Ruiz, R. et al. 2016. The impact of group size on welfare indicators of ewes during pregnancy. PLOS ONE 11(11), e0167061.

Group size (GS) and space allowance have major implications for the welfare of production species, however their effects are often confounded. In a previous study we investigated the impact of varying space allowance at constant...

Suriyampola, P. S., Shelton, D. S., Shukla, R. et al. 2016. Zebrafish social behavior in the wild. Zebrafish 13(1), 1-8.

Wild zebrafish exhibit a wide range of behavior. We found abundant wild zebrafish in flowing rivers and still water, in large, tightly-knit groups of hundreds of individuals, as well as in small, loose shoals. In...

Curtis, G. C., Argo, C. McG., Jones, D. et al. 2016. Impact of feeding and housing systems on disease incidence in dairy calves. Veterinary Record 179(20), 512.

Contentious issues in calf rearing include milk feeding level and single versus group housing. The current study was performed on a high-producing 170 Holstein cow dairy farm to investigate the impact of nutrition and housing...

Martins, T., Valentim, A. M., Pereira, L. N. et al. 2016. Anaesthesia and analgesia in laboratory adult zebrafish: a question of refinement. Laboratory Animals 50(6), 476-488.

Anaesthesia is used daily in fish experimental procedures; however, the use of an inadequate anaesthetic protocol can compromise not only the animal’s welfare but also the reliability of results. The use of zebrafish (Danio rerio)...

Enser, S. 2016. Comparison of housing and welfare of group housed rabbits. Animal Technology and Welfare 15(1), 77-79.

This poster is based on welfare improvements gained from group housing rabbits in floor pens in the new Antibody Production Facility with a focus on development, behaviours and environmental enrichment in both male and female...

Brien, M. L., Webb, G. J., McGuinness, K. A. et al. 2016. Effect of housing density on growth, agonistic behaviour, and activity in hatchling saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 184, 141-149.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of density on growth rate, agonistic behaviour, activity and use of space by hatchling C. porosus in captivity. Hatchling C. porosus were raised in identical...

Buijs, S., Vangeyte, J., Tuyttens, F. A. M. 2016. Effects of communal rearing and group size on breeding rabbits’ post-grouping behaviour and its relation to ano-genital distance. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 182, 53-60.

Group housing is becoming the standard for many farm animal species, as it is seen as a more welfare friendly way of keeping gregarious animals. Aggression between female breeding rabbits currently obstructs the implementation of...

Bozicovich, T. F. M., Moura, A. S. A. M. T., Fernandes, S. et al. 2016. Effect of environmental enrichment and composition of the social group on the behavior, welfare, and relative brain weight of growing rabbits. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 182, 72-79.

The objective of the study was to investigate if environmental enrichment and the composition of the social group would affect the behavior and relative brain weight of growing rabbits. Rabbits (72 males and 72 females)...

Tokumaru, R. S., Ades, C., Monticelli, P. F. 2015. Social support does not require attachment: Any conspecific tranquilizes isolated guinea-pig pups. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 171, 197-203.

Guinea pig pups produce typical distress whistles when isolated. Whistles’ frequency is decreased or abolished when they contact with the mother and, to a lesser degree, a sibling or even an unfamiliar female, is regained...

Buijs, S., Maertens, L., Hermans, K. et al. 2015. Behaviour, wounds, weight loss and adrenal weight of rabbit does as affected by semi-group housing. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 172, 44-51.

Group housing is often assumed to improve the welfare of gregarious species. Whether this is actually the case depends on the advantages (e.g. more opportunity for social and locomotor behaviour) and disadvantages (e.g. increased fighting...

Collymore, C., Tolwani, R. J., Rasmussen, S. 2015. The behavioral effects of single housing and environmental enrichment on adult zebrafish (Danio rerio). JAALAS. 54(3), 280-285.

Environmental enrichment provides laboratory-housed species the opportunity to express natural behavior and exert control over their home environment, thereby minimizing stress. We sought to determine whether providing an artificial plant in the holding tank as...

Buijs, S., Tuyttens, F. A. M. 2015. Evaluating the effect of semi-group housing of rabbit does on their offspring's fearfulness: Can we use the open-field test? Applied Animal Behaviour Science 162, 58-66.

Breeding does are usually housed one doe per cage, but there is an increased interest in (semi-)group housing systems designed to improve welfare. However, there is a lack of information on how such systems actually...

Shams, S., Chatterjee, D., Gerlai, R. 2015. Chronic social isolation affects thigmotaxis and whole-brain serotonin levels in adult zebrafish. Behavioral Brain Research 292, 283-87.

The popularity of the zebrafish has been growing in behavioral brain research. Previously utilized mainly in developmental biology and genetics, the zebrafish has turned out to possess a complex behavioral repertoire. For example, it is...

Meagher, R. K., Daros, R. R., Costa, J.H. et al. 2015. Effects of degree and timing of social housing on reversal learning and response to novel objects in dairy calves. PLOS ONE 10(8), e0132828.

Rodents and primates deprived of early social contact exhibit deficits in learning and behavioural flexibility. They often also exhibit apparent signs of elevated anxiety, although the relationship between these effects has not been studied. To...

Bayne, K. A., Beaver, B. V., Mench, J. A. et al. 2015. Laboratory animal behavior. In: Laboratory Animal Medicine, 3rd edition. Fox, J. G., Anderson, L., Otto, G., et al. (eds). Elsevier, Inc., Amsterdam, NL. pp. 1617-1651.

The study of laboratory animal behavior has increased steadily over the last decade, with expanding emphasis on a variety of commonly used species. In the United States, this trend was initially focused on species for...

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...

Baszczak, J. A. 2014. An easy solution for social housing larger guinea pigs in research. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 565 (Abstract #P61).

The standard microisolation caging for guinea pigs, Cavia porcellus, allows for group housing up to a combined weight of 350 g. However, as mandated by the USDA, research facilities must socially house guinea pigs with...