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. 
LaFollette, M. R., Cloutier, S., Brady, C. M. et al. 2023. Benchmarking enrichment efforts in the US & Canada across species and enrichment categories. JAALAS 62(4), 303–316.

Enrichment is important for animal welfare and data quality. Provision of enrichment opportunities varies between species and enrichment category. However, data benchmarking these differences does not exist. Our objective was to characterize enrichment provision and...

Brereton, J., Rose, P. 2022. An evaluation of the role of 'biological evidence' in zoo and aquarium enrichment practices. Animal Welfare 31(1), 13-26.

Evidence-based approaches are key to advancing all areas of zoo and aquarium practice. Output from empirical study must be disseminated to those within the industry so that results can support changes to husbandry and management...

Rana, M. S., Lee, C., Lea, J. M. et al. 2022. Commercial free-range laying hens’ preferences for shelters with different sunlight filtering percentages. Animals 12(3), 344.

Extreme sunlight might be aversive to free-range laying hens, discouraging them from going outside. Range enrichment with artificial shelters may protect hens from sunlight and increase range use. The preferences of 34–40-week-old Hy-Line Brown laying...

Taylor, P. S., Hemsworth, P. H., Rault, J.-L. 2022. Environmental complexity: Additional human visual contact reduced meat chickens’ fear of humans and physical items altered pecking behavior. Animals 12(3), 310.

Increased environmental complexity can improve animal welfare, depending on the resources provided and use by the animal. We provided chickens either with physical items that posed no biosecurity risk and were inexpensive (balls, chains, perches...

Campbell, D. L. M., Belson, S., Dyall, T. R. et al. 2022. Impacts of rearing enrichments on pullets’ and free-range hens’ positive behaviors across the flock cycle. Animals 12(3), 280.

Enrichment during the indoor rearing of pullets destined for free-range systems may optimize pullet development including increasing motivated natural behaviors (termed ‘positive behaviors’) including foraging, dust bathing and chick play. Hy-Line Brown® chicks (n =...

Rowe, E., Mullan, S. 2022. Advancing a “good life” for farm animals: Development of resource tier frameworks for on-farm assessment of positive welfare for beef cattle, broiler chicken and pigs. Animals 12(5), 565.

There is increasing recognition that farm animal welfare standards should ensure positive welfare, as well as prevent negative welfare. Resources that are valued by an animal and that provide opportunities to engage in motivated behaviours...

Mocz, F., Michel, V., Janvrot, M. et al. 2022. Positive effects of elevated platforms and straw bales on the welfare of fast-growing broiler chickens reared at two different stocking densities. Animals 12(5), 542.

In conventional rearing systems, fast-growing broiler chickens commonly experience welfare issues, such as contact dermatitis, walking difficulties or a lack of expression of species-specific behaviours. Enriching their environment may be a way to improve their...

Baker, P. E., Nicol, C. J., Weeks, C. A. 2022. The effect of hard pecking enrichment during rear on feather cover, feather pecking behaviour and beak length in beak-trimmed and intact-beak laying hen pullets. Animals 12(6), 674.

Injurious pecking, commonly controlled by beak trimming (BT), is a widespread issue in laying hens associated with thwarted foraging. This controlled study compared the effect in intact and beak-trimmed pullets of providing pecking pans to...

Li, C., Shen, C., Feng, G. et al. 2022. Preference for shelters at different developmental stages of Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis). Animals 12(7), 918.

A shelter is a good habitat for aquatic organisms, which could aid in avoiding cannibalism and facilitate predation. Chinese Mitten Crab (Eriocheir sinensis) is an important aquaculture species with troglodytism and nocturnal habit. To clarify...

Sandilands, V., Baker, L., Donbavand, J. et al. 2022. Do hens use enrichments provided in free-range systems? Animals 12(8), 995.

Hens in free-range systems are given enrichments to increase foraging and limit injurious pecking, but the efficacy of enrichment types requires investigation. We studied hen behaviour and feather cover in eight commercial free-range flocks each...

Reyes, F. S., Gimenez, A. R., Anderson, K. M. et al. 2022. Impact of stationary brush quantity on brush use in group-housed dairy heifers. Animals 12(8), 972.

Our objectives were to evaluate the effect of stationary brush quantity on brush use and competition in weaned dairy heifers naïve to brushes. Sixty-three Holstein heifers (95 ± 5.7 days old) were housed in groups...

Houser, B., Vitale, K. R. 2022. Increasing shelter cat welfare through enrichment: A review. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 248, 105585.

Research into cat behavior has gained more attention in recent years. As one of the world’s most popular companion animals, work in this field has potential to have wide-reaching benefits. Cats living in shelters are...

Vasdal, G., Gebhardt-Henrich, S.G., Kittelsen, K.E. et al. 2022. Commercial broiler breeder pullet hens use perches but show no preference for perch type or height. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 249, 105608.

An important behavioral need for laying hens is perching, but few studies have investigated perching behavior in commercial broiler breeder pullets. The aim of this study was to investigate perching behavior throughout the pullet period...

Zhang, C., Juniper, D. T., Meagher, R. K. 2022. Effects of physical enrichment and pair housing before weaning on growth, behaviour and cognitive ability of calves after weaning and regrouping. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 249, 105606.

Housing unweaned calves individually in barren environments negatively affects their growth, cognitive ability, and adaptability to environmental changes in later life. Social housing has been shown to improve those aspects, whereas physical environmental enrichment has...

Mels, C., Niebuhr, K., Futschik, A. et al. 2022. Predictors for plumage damage and bloody lesions indicative of feather pecking in pullets reared in aviaries. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 250, 105607.

Feather pecking remains a serious problem in poultry farming. This study aimed to identify risk factors for plumage damage as a proxy for feather pecking, and the predictive value of practical animal-based parameters. Data were...

Thompson, J. S., Hudson, C. D., Huxley, J. N. et al. 2022. A randomised controlled trial to evaluate the impact of indoor living space on dairy cow production, reproduction and behaviour. Scientific Reports 12(1), 3849.

As a global society, we have a duty to provide suitable care and conditions for farmed livestock to protect animal welfare and ensure the sustainability of our food supply. The suitability and biological impacts of...

Emm, L., Heydon, J. 2022. The evolution of how guinea pigs are housed at high containment in the Biological Investigations Group. Animal Technology and Welfare 21(2), 137-140.

Previously, we housed guinea pigs in pairs, where study design allowed, using RC2R cages (NKP-Isotec). Our change was to house guinea pigs in bigger groups with more space. This resulted in moving the guinea pigs...

Birolo, M., Trocino, A., Zuffellato, A. et al. 2022. Use of gnawing hay blocks: Effects on productive performance, behavior and reactivity of growing rabbits kept in parks with different sex-group compositions. Animals 12(9), 1212.

To improve animal welfare in collective park housing systems, this study assessed the effects of the provision of gnawing hay blocks and the group composition (F: females, M: males, FM: mixed sex) on performance, behavior...

Son, J., Lee, W.-D., Kim, H.-J. et al. 2022. Effect of providing environmental enrichment into aviary house on the welfare of laying hens. Animals 12(9), 1165.

This study aimed to determine the effects of providing environmental enrichment materials—pumice stone and alfalfa hay—to laying hens in the aviary system. A total of 2196 40-week-old Hy-Line Brown laying hens were randomly allotted to...

Witkowska, D., Ponieważ, A. 2022. The effect of housing system on disease prevalence and productive lifespan of dairy herds—A case study. Animals 12(13), 1610.

Selected technological solutions can impact health status of animals. The aim of this case study was to determine the effect of different housing systems on disease prevalence and the productive lifespan of dairy cows. In...

Campbell, A. M., Johnson, A. M., Persia, M. E. et al. 2022. Effects of housing system on anxiety, chronic stress, fear, and immune function in Bovan brown laying hens. Animals 12(14), 1803.

The scientific community needs objective measures to appropriately assess animal welfare. The study objective was to assess the impact of housing system on novel physiological and behavioral measurements of animal welfare for laying hens, including...

Ramankevich, A., Wengerska, K., Rokicka, K. et al. 2022. Environmental enrichment as part of the improvement of the welfare of Japanese quails. Animals 12(15), 1963.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the indicators of the behavioural and physiological welfare of Japanese quails (Coturnix japonica) as possible responses to the enrichment of the birds’ habitat. The study sample consisted...

de Andrade Kogima, P., Diesel, T. A., Vieira, F. M. C. et al. 2022. The welfare of dairy cows in pasture, free stall, and compost barn management systems in a Brazilian subtropical region. Animals 12(17), 2215.

The effect of milk production systems on the welfare of dairy cows has been studied worldwide, but studies that compare pasture-based, compost barn, and free stall systems, according to animal welfare, are more scarce. In...

Vasdal, G., Gebhardt-Henrich, S. G., Tahamtani, F. et al. 2022. Perch use in commercial broiler breeders – Preference for perch material and effect of age. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 253, 105680.

Unlike for laying hens in most European countries, few broiler breeders have access to perches, and there is a need for more knowledge on perching behavior in broiler breeders. The aim of this study was...

Smith, L. E., Rowe, C., Mackay, F. et al. 2022. Aquarium tank design is integral to the elimination of mantle abrasion in the captive curled octopus (Eledone cirrhosa): A case study at Macduff Marine Aquarium. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 25(4), 355-361.

Macduff Marine Aquarium is a native species aquarium situated on the Moray Firth coastline and houses the curled octopus, Eledone cirrhosa, for public display. Historically, the designated octopus display tank has been in-keeping with the...