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. 
de Castro Travnik, I., de Souza Machado, D., de Silva Gonçalves, L. et al. 2020. Temperament in domestic cats: A review of proximate mechanisms, methods of assessment, its effects on human—cat relationships, and one welfare. Animals 10(9), 1516.

Temperament can be defined as interindividual differences in behavior that are stable over time and in different contexts. The terms ‘personality’, ‘coping styles’, and ‘behavioral syndromes’ have also been used to describe these interindividual differences...

Mills, P. C., Ghodasara, P., Satake, N. et al. 2020. A novel transdermal ketoprofen formulation provides effective analgesia to calves undergoing amputation dehorning. Animals 10(12), 2442.

There is a critical need to ensure that all cattle undergoing surgical husbandry procedures are provided effective pain relief. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are most commonly used, and typically are administered by intramuscular (IM) injection...

Saville, J. W., Ross, J. A., Trefz, T. et al. 2020. Development and field validation of lidocaine-loaded castration bands for bovine pain mitigation. Animals 10(12), 2363.

Castration is among the most common management procedures performed in the dairy and beef cattle industries and is mainly performed by surgery or elastic banding. Despite the various benefits of castration, all methods produce pain...

Zobel, G., Proudfoot, K., Cave, V. et al. 2020. The use of hides during and after calving in New Zealand dairy cows. Animals 10(12), 2255.

Isolation during calving is a common dairy cow behavior, however it has not been examined in large outdoor group settings. The provision of “hides” was monitored for its impact on calving location and cow–calf behavior...

Oehm, A. W., Jensen, K. C., Tautenhahn, A. et al. 2020. Factors associated with lameness in tie stall housed dairy cows in south Germany. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 7, 601640.

Lameness remains a major concern for animal welfare and productivity in modern dairy production. Even though a trend toward loose housing systems exists and the public expects livestock to be kept under conditions where freedom...

Andrews, D. D., Fajt, V. R., Baker, K. C. et al. 2020. A comparison of buprenorphine, sustained release buprenorphine, and high concentration buprenorphine in male New Zealand white rabbits. JAALAS 59(5), 546-556.

Pain management in rabbits can be difficult because they are adept at hiding pain and can be stressed by handling and restraint for injection. The use of opioid analgesics with prolonged durations of activity could...

Saha, C. K., Yi, Q., Janke, D. et al. 2020. Opening size effects on airflow pattern and airflow rate of a naturally ventilated dairy building—A CFD study. Applied Sciences 10(17), 6054.

Airflow inside naturally ventilated dairy (NVD) buildings is highly variable and difficult to understand due to the lack of precious measuring techniques with the existing methods. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was applied to investigate the...

Spain, M., Fuller, G., Allard, S. 2020. Effects of habitat modifications on behavioral indicators of welfare for Madagascar giant hognose snakes (Leioheterodon madagascariensis). Animal Behavior and Cognition 7(1), 70–81.

Although historically understudied, the empirical evaluation of captive reptile welfare is becoming more common, and zoos continue making modifications to their reptile facilities with the goal of improving welfare. In this study, we evaluated the...

Greenwood, E. C., Dickson, C. A., van Wettere, W. H. E. J. 2019. Feeding strategies before and at mixing: The effect on sow aggression and behavior. Animals 9(1), 23

Hierarchy formation in domestic sows results in aggression and stress, which might be ameliorated through nutritional satiety. The effect on aggression in group housed, gestating sows provided a standard or high volume of a “standard”...

Greenwood, E. C., van Wettere, W. H. E. J., Rayner, J. et al. 2019. Provision point-source materials stimulates play in sows but does not affect aggression at regrouping. Animals 9(1), 8.

When sows are mixed into groups, hierarchies form and resulting aggression and stress can affect production and welfare. This study determined the effect of providing point-source materials on aggressive and play behaviors in gestating sows...

Ebertz, P., Krommweh, M. S., Büscher, W. 2019. Feasibility study: Improving floor cleanliness by using a robot scraper in group-housed pregnant sows and their reactions on the new device. Animals 9(4), 185.

Successful pig farming needs the best conditions of cleanliness in the housings. The present study examined for the first time whether a robot scraper usually applied in dairy farming is usable in sow housings for...

van Erp-van der Kooij, E., Almalik, O., Cavestany, D. et al. 2019. Lying postures of dairy cows in cubicles and on pasture. Animals 9(4), 183.

Cows housed indoors with cubicles are probably more restricted in their choice of lying posture and orientation compared with cows housed on pasture. We therefore compared lying postures on pasture in Uruguay and the Netherlands...

Van der Saag, D., Lomax, S., Windsor, P. A. et al. 2019. Effect of lignocaine and a topical vapocoolant spray on pain response during surgical castration of beef calves. Animals 9(4), 126.

This study assessed the efficacy of pre-operative injected lignocaine and peri-operative topical vapocoolant spray, administered as most practical for incorporation into routine calf castration procedures. Calves were randomly allocated to: (1) sham castration (SHAM); (2)...

Mattachini, G., Pompe, J., Finzi, A. et al. 2019. Effects of feeding frequency on the lying behavior of dairy cows in a loose housing with automatic feeding and milking system. Animals 9(4), 121.

Management systems in modern dairy farms is an important issue in relation to animal comfort and welfare. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of feed delivery frequency on the behavior patterns...

Wallgren, T., Larsen, A., Lundeheim, N. et al. 2019. Implication and impact of straw provision on behaviour, lesions and pen hygiene on commercial farms rearing undocked pigs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 210, 26-37.

According to the European Union Council Directive 2008/120EC, measures to minimise the risk for tail biting shall be taken before practicing tail docking, e.g. provision of manipulable material. Still, >90% of the pigs within EU...

Schmitt, O., O'Driscoll, K., Boyle, L. A. et al. 2019. Artificial rearing affects piglets pre-weaning behaviour, welfare and growth performance. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 210, 16-25.

One strategy adopted on farms to deal with managing large litters involves removing piglets from their mothers at seven days old to be reared in specialised accommodation with milk replacer. Effects on piglet behaviour, growth...

Grimberg-Henrici, C. G. E., Büttner, K., Lohmeier, R. Y. et al. 2019. The effect of group-housing with free-farrowing pens on reproductive traits and the behaviour of low-risk and high-risk crushing sows. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 211, 33-40.

Free-farrowing systems and group-housing systems for lactating sows are sensitive systems and require an optimal interaction of different environmental factors to be successful. The aim of the present study was to compare sows’ reproductive traits...

Al-Marashdeh, O., Cameron, K. C., Bryant, R. H. et al. 2019. Effects of surface type in an uncovered stand-off pad system on comfort and welfare of non-lactating dairy cows during winter. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 211, 17-24.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of stand-off surface type on cow lying behaviour, cleanliness and lameness. One hundred and sixty Friesian × Jersey crossbreed, pregnant non-lactating dairy cows were blocked...

Naya, A., Traulsen, I., Gertz, M. et al. 2019. Is tail biting in growing pigs reduced by a prolonged suckling period? Applied Animal Behaviour Science 211, 41-46.

It was the aim of the study to investigate the effect of a prolonged suckling period and group housing before weaning on tail biting in undocked nursery pigs. To do this, experiments with three treatment...

Vindevoghel, T. V., Fleming, P. A., Hyndman, T. H. et al. 2019. Qualitative Behavioural Assessment of Bos indicus cattle after surgical castration. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 211, 95-102.

There are various methods to perform castration of cattle, but surgical castration is the most common. Although it is well documented that surgical procedures inflict pain, analgesic use is usually omitted for surgical castration of...

Gladden, N., Ellis, K., Martin, J. et al. 2019. A single dose of ketoprofen in the immediate postpartum period has the potential to improve dairy calf welfare in the first 48 h of life. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 212, 19-29.

The welfare impact of birth on newborn calves has rarely been studied. Dystocia in particular may have significant welfare costs for calves. While analgesia is sometimes provided to calves born to difficult parturition by veterinary...

O’Driscoll, K., Lewis, E., Kennedy, E. 2019. Effect of feed allowance at pasture on the lying behaviour of dairy cows. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 213, 40-46.

In temperate climates where cows are primarily managed at pasture shortages of grass could result in nutritional deficits for the cow and may have a variety of behavioural consequences. Lying behaviour is one of the...

Tuomisto, L., Huuskonen, A., Jauhiainen, L. et al. 2019. Finishing bulls have more synchronised behaviour in pastures than in pens. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 213, 26-32.

The objective of the present study was to compare the synchronisation of the lying, feeding and standing behaviour of bulls housed in an uninsulated barn and in a pasture. Dairy (Ayrshire and Holstein-Friesian) and beef...

Bertelsen, M., Jensen, M. B. 2019. Does dairy calves’ motivation for social play behaviour build up over time? Applied Animal Behaviour Science 214, 18-24.

Dairy calves are often housed in individual pens, which limits play behaviour. This study investigates whether the motivation for social play builds up during periods of deprivation hereof. Sixteen mixed-sex pairs of calves (33 ±...

Verdon, M., Morrison, R. S., Rault, J.-L. 2019. Sow and piglet behaviour in group lactation housing from 7 or 14 days post-partum. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 214, 25-33.

Under natural conditions, sows and piglets abandon the nest between 7 and 14 days postpartum and re-join the group. If given the choice, commercially housed sows begin to nurse piglets communally around this time. The...