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. 
Cohen, S., Kwok, M., Huang, J. 2020. Humane euthanasia of guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) with a penetrating spring-loaded captive bolt. Animals 10(8), 1356.

Guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) have been used in research since the 19th century to collect data due to their physiological similarities to humans. Today, animals perform a vital role in experiments and concerns for laboratory...

Gent, T. C., Gebhardt-Henrich, S., Schild, S.-L. A. et al. 2020. Evaluation of poultry stunning with low atmospheric pressure, carbon dioxide or nitrogen using a single aversion testing paradigm. Animals 10(8), 1308.

Low atmospheric pressure stunning (LAPS) has been suggested for use in poultry under 4 kg in the abattoir as a more humane alternative to carbon dioxide (CO2). However, there are currently no studies offering a...

Wotton, S., Grist, A., O’Callaghan, M. et al. 2020. Head-only stunning of turkeys Part 1: The minimum voltage necessary to break down the inherent high resistance. Animals 10(12), 2427.

Pre-slaughter stunning is required for humane slaughter. For turkeys, head-only electrical stunning is most often used by small scale producers. To ensure immediate and effective stunning, the impedance (resistance) of the tissue of the head...

Estien, C., O’Connell, C., Francis, X. et al. 2020. Temporary behavioral responses to playbacks by a pest parrot and implications for management. Animal Behavior and Cognition 9(4), 363–384.

Human-wildlife interactions continue to increase due to anthropogenic disturbances, with some interactions resulting in conflict. Leveraging a taxa’s bias for a particular sensory cue is a promising management avenue for reducing the potential and realized...

Butler, J. L., Kennerley, S. W. 2019. Mymou: A low-cost, wireless touchscreen system for automated training of nonhuman primates. Behaviour Research Methods 51, 2559–2572.

Training nonhuman primates (NHPs) to perform cognitive tasks is essential for many neuroscientific investigations, yet laboratory training is a time-consuming process with inherent limitations. Habituating NHPs to the laboratory staff and experimental equipment can take...

Jacobs, L., Bourassa, D. V., Harris, C. E. et al. 2019. Euthanasia: Manual versus mechanical cervical dislocation for broilers. Animals 9(2), 47.

The aim was to assess the onset of brain stem death for two euthanasia methods—manual cervical dislocation (CD) versus the Koechner Euthanizing Device (KED). Over three days broilers of 36 (n = 60), 42 (n...

Bandara, R. M.A.S., Torrey, S., Turner, P. V. et al. 2019. Efficacy of a novel mechanical cervical dislocation device in comparison to manual cervical dislocation in layer chickens. Animals 9(7), 407.

The main objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of mechanical cervical dislocation using the Koechner Euthanasia Device Model C (KED) in comparison to manual cervical dislocation in layer chickens. Laying hens and/or...

Axiak Flammer, S., Eskes, C., Kohler, I. et al. 2019. Alternatives to carbon dioxide—Taking responsibility for humanely ending the life of animals. Animals 9(8), 482.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is commonly used to kill rodents. However, a large body of research has now established that CO2 is aversive to them. A multidisciplinary symposium organized by the Swiss Federal Food Safety and...

Steiner, A. R., Axiak Flammer, S., Beausoleil, N. J. et al. 2019. Humanely ending the life of animals: Research priorities to identify alternatives to carbon dioxide. Animals 9(11), 911.

The use of carbon dioxide (CO2) for stunning and killing animals is considered to compromise welfare due to air hunger, anxiety, fear, and pain. Despite decades of research, no alternatives have so far been found...

Association of Primate Veterinarians. 2019. Association of Primate Veterinarians’ guidelines for nonhuman primate restraint. JAALAS 58(3), 282-284.

The Association of Primate Veterinarians (APV) recognizes that several forms of restraint, including physical and chemical, are necessary for the safe handling of nonhuman primates (NHPs). The following guidelines aim to provide information to researchers...

Cox, R. J., Nol, P., Ellis, C. K. et al. 2019. Research with agricultural animals and wildlife. ILAR Journal 60(1), 66-73.

In fiscal year 2016, agricultural animals such as swine, sheep, goats, and cattle represented 10% of the 820 812 animals used in USDA-regulated research. In addition to traditional agricultural animals, research studies using captive wildlife...

Gibson, T., King, E., Spence, J. et al. 2019. Pathophysiology of concussive non-penetrative captive bolt stunning of turkeys. Animals 9(12), 1049.

The non-penetrative captive bolt (NPCB) has been proposed as a more humane and practical alternative to constant voltage electrical stunning for small-scale seasonal turkey producers. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the CASH® Small Animal...

Golledge, H., Carter, E. 2018. Welfare of fish farmed in the EU during transport and at slaughter. Animal Welfare 27(3), 287-288.

This Report, commissioned by the European Commission, summarises the current state of transport and slaughter practices in the aquaculture industry within eleven case-study countries in the European Economic Area (EAA). Comparisons are also made with...

Benson, E., Weiher, J., Alphin, R. et al. 2018. Evaluation of two compressed air foam systems for culling caged layer hens. Animals 8(5), 61.

Outbreaks of avian influenza (AI) and other highly contagious poultry diseases continue to be a concern for those involved in the poultry industry. In the situation of an outbreak, emergency depopulation of the birds involved...

Woolcott, C., Torrey, S., Turner, P. et al. 2018. Evaluation of two models of non-penetrating captive bolt devices for on-farm euthanasia of turkeys. Animals 8(3), 42.

On-farm euthanasia is a critical welfare issue in the poultry industry and can be particularly difficult to perform on mature turkeys due to their size. We evaluated the efficacy of two commercially available non-penetrating captive...

Martin, J., Sandercock, D., Sandilands, V. et al. 2018. Welfare risks of repeated application of on-farm killing methods for poultry. Animals 8(3), 39.

Council Regulation (EC) no. 1099/2009 on the protection of animals at the time of killing restricts the use of manual cervical dislocation in poultry on farm in the European Union (EU) to birds weighing up...

Gurung, S., White, D., Archer, G. et al. 2018. Evaluation of alternative euthanasia methods of neonatal chickens. Animals 8(3), 37.

Hatched male layer chicks are currently euthanized by maceration in the United States. Public concerns on the use of maceration have led to the search for alternative methods. We hypothesized that gas inhalation and low...

Martin, J., Sandilands, V., Sparrey, J. et al. 2018. On farm evaluation of a novel mechanical cervical dislocation device for poultry. Animals 8(1), 10.

Urgent development of alternative on-farm killing methods for poultry is required following the number restrictions placed on the use of traditional manual cervical dislocation by European Legislation (EU 1099/2009). Alternatives must be proven to be...

Kittelsen, K. E., Granquist, E. G., Aunsmo, A. L. et al. 2018. An evaluation of two different broiler catching methods. Animals 8(8), 141.

Catching is the first step in the pre-slaughter chain for broiler chickens. The process may be detrimental for animal welfare due to the associated handling. The aim of this pilot study was to compare two...

Chatigny, F., Groman, D. B., Martinson, S. A. et al. 2018. Evaluation of tissue changes following intramuscular infiltration of lidocaine in rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss. Journal of Fish Biology 92(4), 888-900.

Rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss were infiltrated with either saline or lidocaine adjacent to the dorsal fin to assess histopathological changes. Infiltration was done as if it were being used as a local anaesthetic. Tissue lesions...

Walsh, J., Percival, A., Turner, P. 2017. Efficacy of blunt force trauma, a novel mechanical cervical dislocation device, and a non-penetrating captive bolt device for on-farm euthanasia of pre-weaned kits, growers, and adult commercial meat rabbits. Animals 7(12), 100.

The commercial meat rabbit industry is without validated on-farm euthanasia methods, potentially resulting in inadequate euthanasia protocols. We evaluated blunt force trauma (BFT), a mechanical cervical dislocation device (MCD), and a non-penetrating captive bolt device...

Scott, K. E., Bracchi, L. A., Lieberman, M. T. et al. 2017. Evaluation of best practices for the euthanasia of zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). JAALAS 56(6), 802-806.

Although zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) have been used in biomedical research for many years, no published reports are available about euthanizing these small birds. In this study, we compared 5 methods for zebra finch euthanasia...

McMillan, J. L., Bloomsmith, M. A., Prescott, M. J. 2017. An international survey of approaches to chair restraint of nonhuman primates. Comparative Medicine 67(5), 442–451.

Specifically designed restraint chairs are the preferred method of restraint for research studies that require NHP to sit in place for sustained periods of time. In light of increasing emphasis on refinement of restraint to...

Koch, C. S., Ballantyne, K. C., Tynes, V. V. et al. 2017. Training Rhea americana chicks to walk voluntarily across a scale; effect on the handler's time and the chicks' weight gain compared with traditional techniques: A pilot study. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 18, 69-75.

The purpose of this pilot study was to determine if Rhea americana chicks could be trained to walk voluntarily across a scale to be weighed. If the chicks were trainable, the following questions would be...

Bermejo-Poza, R., De la Fuente, J., Pérez, C. 2016. Reducing the effect of pre-slaughter fasting on the stress response of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Animal Welfare 25(3), 339-346.

Fasting is commonly used in aquaculture to empty the gut before slaughter, but little is known about how feeding frequency before fasting affects the stress response of trout. To find out more, 240 rainbow trout...