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. 
Golledge, H., Richardson, C. (Eds.) 2024. The UFAW Handbook on the Care and Management of Laboratory and Other Research Animals (9th ed.). Wiley-Blackwell. 1040 p.

The latest edition of the seminal reference on the care and management of laboratory and research animals. The newly revised ninth edition of The UFAW Handbook on the Care and Management of Laboratory and Other...

Mantz, M., Pugerud, A. 2024. Overcoming the hurdles of lab animal enrichment: Natural behaviors vs. scientific need. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 12(1) (January/February), 32-34.

The Animal Resources Core (ARC) at the Abigail Wexner Research Institute (AWRI) at Nationwide Children’s Hospital (NCH) faces many of the same challenges other institutions manage in terms of enrichment for laboratory animals. A Behavior...

Brennan, J. 2024. How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? Not much if they’re provided with the right enrichment! Laboratory Animal Science Professional 12(1) (January/February), 46-48.

Husbandry & Management,Environmental Enrichment

Claydon, M., Brereton, J., Rose, P. 2024. Never be mute about bird welfare: Swanning around with environmental enrichment. Zoo Biology 43(1), 83–91.

Environmental enrichment (EE) is commonly provided to animals managed under human care, being beneficial to behavioral diversity and improving animal welfare. Use of EE appears to be particularly beneficial to individual wild animals spending a...

Kelly, R., Rose, P. E. 2024. Assessing the impact of environmental enrichment on behavior in understudied armadillo species: A case study. Zoo Biology 43(1), 100–109.

The implementation of environmental enrichment (EE) can be effective in promoting zoo animal welfare by enhancing the performance of natural or species-typical behaviors. Research on the effects of EE is biased towards larger mammalian species...

Urrego, A. C. B., Aguilar, D. A. B. 2024. Impact of diet and environmental enrichment management in stereotyped behaviours: A case study in tayra Eira barbara. Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research 12(1), 49–55.

Holistic approaches have been implemented to minimise stress expressed as stereotypies associated with low welfare conditions, which can arise from a range of factors such as frustration, adaptation attempts and neurological problems. Such behaviour was...

Robinson, L. M., Weiss, A. (Eds.) 2023. Nonhuman Primate Welfare: From History, Science, and Ethics to Practice. Springer, Cham, Switzerland. 671 p.

This volume reviews the broad topic of welfare in nonhuman primates under human care. Chapters detail the history of primates in captivity, ethical and legal issues surrounding the use of nonhuman primates as entertainment or...

Bellini, L., Schrank, M., Veladiano, I. A. et al. 2023. Retrospective comparison of the effects of laryngeal mask and endotracheal tube on some cardio-respiratory variables in pet rabbits undergoing anaesthesia for elective gonadectomy. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 65(1), 10.

Endotracheal intubation in rabbits is challenging and supraglottic airway devices, such as laryngeal masks (LMA), represent an alternative as they are easy to insert, and do not stimulate the larynx requiring therefore a lighter plane...

Brando, S., Vitale, A., Bacon, M. 2023. Promoting good nonhuman primate welfare outside regular working hours. Animals 13(8), 1423.

Promoting good primate welfare outside of daylight hours is an important task. The responsibility to provide a complex environment and environmental enrichment is an essential element of primate wellbeing programs that should be approached from...

Casalini, A., Gentile, L., Emmanuele, P. et al. 2023. Effects of environmental enrichment on the behavior of Octopus vulgaris in a recirculating aquaculture system. Animals 13(11), 1862.

Octopus vulgaris is a commercially valuable species. It is overexploited in the natural environment and is considered to be an innovative species for aquaculture. However, large-scale farming is generally designed only based on economic requirements...

Peruga, M., Kawala, B., Sarul, M. et al. 2023. Are currently selected laboratory animals useful in the research of how female hormones influence orthodontic biomechanics? Animals 13(4), 629.

Animal testing was and remains the only method of introducing a certain treatment and medical procedure on humans. On the other hand, animals have their rights resulting from applicable legal acts, including Directive 2010/63/EU and...

Zieliński, D. 2023. The effect of enrichment on leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius) housed in two different maintenace systems (rack system vs. Terrarium). Animals 13(6), 1111.

The aim of this study was to test the usefulness of environmental enrichment for Eublepharis macularius depending on the maintenance method (terrarium vs. rack system). The hypothesis was that reptiles kept in an extremely low-stimulus...

Fischer, B., Barrett, M., Adcock, S. et al. 2023. Guidelines for protecting and promoting insect welfare in research. Insect Welfare Research Society.

These guidelines were developed by the leadership of the Insect Welfare Research Society (IWRS). They are intended to provide guidance to individuals researching insects, in laboratory, field, education, and industry contexts. The guidelines are informed...

Kapusta, J., Siewierska, D., Kruczek, M. et al. 2023. Species specific differences in short-term behavioral reaction of voles to cage elements removal. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 262, 105899.

The welfare of animals used in scientific experiments should be one of the most important things to take care of. Many kinds of research show that the enriching elements can help animals to fulfil their...

Goswami, S., Tyagi, P. C., Malik, P. K. et al. 2023. Effects of enclosure complexity and visitor presence on the welfare of Asiatic lions. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 260, 105853.

In recent years, there has been much research into the individual effects of enclosure complexity and visitor presence on captive animal welfare. However, the inter-linkages between enclosure complexity and visitor presence and their combined influence...

Lucchini, K., Umeed, R., Parreira dos Santos, P. J. et al. 2023. Tactile responses to environmental enrichment in captive Antillean manatees (Trichechus manatus manatus). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 261, 105879.

Tactile signals are essential for Antillean manatee communication and survival because they facilitate interactions with conspecifics and the environment. Nevertheless, relatively little is known about tactile signal usage. This study aimed to assess captive Antillean...

Kondrashev, S. L. 2023. Trichromatic vision in toads: Evidence from preference for colour objects during mate choice. Behaviour 160(8), 753–784.

Input of different spectral types of photoreceptors in amphibian colour vision has been assessed by studying the behaviour of male toads Bufo bufo and B. gargarizans in a laboratory. This method is based on the...

Baskir, E., Parsons, A., Elden, M. et al. 2023. Quantifying acute behavioral reactions of Bali mynas (Leucopsar rothschildi) to environmental and progressively challenging enrichment. Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens 4(1), 176–190.

Animals use specific behaviors and skills to overcome challenges and access resources. Environmental enrichment is provided to animals in human care to both promote species-appropriate behaviors and reduce undesired behaviors. Feather pecking in birds is...

Crespi-Abril, A. C., Rubilar, T. 2023. Ethical considerations for echinoderms: New initiatives in welfare. Animals 13(21), 3377.

This paper explores the ethical considerations surrounding research on echinoderms, a group of invertebrates that has recently garnered attention in the scientific community. The importance of responsible animal handling and the need for an ethical...

Deininger, M. M., Benner, C.-F., Strudthoff, L. J. et al. 2023. Post-mortem extracorporeal membrane oxygenation perfusion rat model: A feasibility study. Animals 13(22), 3532.

The development of biomedical soft- or hardware frequently includes testing in animals. However, large efforts have been made to reduce the number of animal experiments, according to the 3Rs principle. Simultaneously, a significant number of...

Fernández-Lázaro, G., Latorre, R., Fontanillas Pérez, J. C. et al. 2023. Reaction to novel objects and fecal glucocorticoid metabolite levels in two species of nocturnal geckos. Animals 13(21), 3384.

Many reptiles are maintained in captivity and heavily traded, although welfare measures for many species are not well established and are under-researched compared to other animals. In this study, we focused on two of these...

Henaut, Y., Delfour, F. 2023. Manatees in zoological parks throughout the world: History, state, and welfare. Animals 13(20), 3228.

The order Sirenia comprises several species of manatees and one species of dugong. These popular marine mammals are relatively recent acquisitions to zoological parks throughout the world. As far as we know, there are less...

Krönke, F., Xu, L. 2023. Sensory stimulation as a means of sustained enhancement of well-being in leopard geckos, Eublepharis macularius (Eublepharidae, Squamata). Animals 13(23), 3595.

Although the private keeping of reptiles has boomed in most western countries since the millennium, studies dealing with the recognition and promotion of welfare in these reptiles seem to represent a blind spot of scientific...

Lewbart, G. A., Zachariah, T. T. 2023. Aquatic and terrestrial invertebrate welfare. Animals 13(21), 3375.

Invertebrates are a diverse group of animals that make up the majority of the animal kingdom and encompass a wide array of species with varying adaptations and characteristics. Invertebrates are found in nearly all of...

Schneidewind, S. J., Meemken, D., Langforth, S. 2023. Measures and penalties for animal welfare violations at german abattoirs: A compilation of current recommendations and practices. Animals 13(18), 2916.

Protecting animal welfare during preslaughter handling and slaughter is an important ethical concern with growing importance to consumers. However, animal welfare violations in abattoirs remain a serious problem, and the enforcement of relevant laws and...