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. 
Hawkins, P., McBride, A., Paiba, G. et al. 2018. Report of the 2017 RSPCA/UFAW Rodent and Rabbit Welfare Group meeting. Animal Technology and Welfare 17(2), 75-83. [Meeting Report]

The RSPCA/UFAW Rodent (and now Rabbit) Welfare Group held a one-day meeting on 14 November 2017 in Weybridge, UK. The first session addressed meeting animals' needs and aiming for a 'good life', with the needs...

Pearson, K., Gant, J. 2018. Improving rabbit enrichment: Developing a rolling enrichment plan. Animal Technology and Welfare 17(2), 121-123.

A three-week enrichment preference study trialling different substrates, food and pen structures was carried out in three, group-housed female New Zealand White Rabbits (NZW). Preference results: structural - rabbits spent the most time with a...

Phillips, C. J. C., Farrugia, C., Lin, C.-h. et al. 2018. The effect providing space in excess of standards on the behaviour of budgerigars in aviaries. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 199, 89-93.

Budgerigars housed in conventional cages have no opportunity for some normal behaviours, in particular flight, and develop stereotyped behaviours. Increasingly aviaries are used for groups of budgerigars but the minimum space requirement to support normal...

Sirovnik, J., Stratmann, A., Gebhardt-Henrich, S. G. et al. 2018. Feeding from perches in an aviary system reduces aggression and mortality in laying hens. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 202, 53-62.

Some commercial aviary systems for laying hens allow birds to access feed by standing on perches instead of platforms. Despite reports that providing laying hens with perches relates to reduced aggression and cannibalism, and increased...

Gebhardt-Henrich, S. G., Toscano, M. J., Würbel, H. 2018. Use of aerial perches and perches on aviary tiers by broiler breeders. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 203, 24-33.

Perching, especially during the night, is an innate behaviour of chickens and the provision of perches is mandatory for laying hens in multiple countries. We examined whether broiler breeders of the fast (Ross 308) and...

Bailie, C. L., Baxter, M., O’Connell, N. E. 2018. Exploring perch provision options for commercial broiler chickens. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 200, 114-122.

Two related experiments involving broiler chickens are presented. Experiment 1 evaluated the use of six perch types: (1) an A-frame design (incorporating a platform and ramps), (2) a ‘flat top’ ramp, (3) a curved ramp...

Campbell, D. L. M., Horton, B. J., Hinch, G. N. 2018. Using radio-frequency identification technology to measure synchronised ranging of free-range laying hens. Animals 8(11), 210.

Free-range laying hen systems provide individuals a choice between indoor and outdoor areas where range use may be socially influenced. This study used radio-frequency identification technology to track the ranging of individually-tagged hens housed in...

Perkovic, K., Mettke-Hofmann, C. 2018. Colour polymorphic Gouldian finches avoid complex backgrounds but prefer simple camouflage colours over white backgrounds. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 206, 102-108.

Many animals blend in well with their environment known as camouflage which is a successful predator avoidance strategy. However, captive environments often do not allow for camouflage and may result in stress and reduced welfare...

Norman, K. I., Weeks, C. A., Pettersson, I. C. et al. 2018. The effect of experience of ramps at rear on the subsequent ability of layer pullets to negotiate a ramp transition. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 208, 92-99.

In commercial situations, laying hens must negotiate levels to reach resources such as food, water and litter. Providing ramps in aviary systems reduces collisions and resultant keel bone fractures in adults. We investigated whether providing...

Edwards, G. L., Michael, J. A., Parks., A. 2018. Agricultural animals as biomedical models: Occupational health and safety considerations. ILAR Journal 59(2), 161-167.

The use of agricultural animals in biomedical research is increasing. Their overall size and metabolic rate, organ size, longer gestation period, and other physiological similarities make them good candidates for animal models of human disease...

Darbyshire, A. K., Salleng, K., Chen,P. 2018. The shocking lives of electric eels. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 6(1) (March), 14-18.

Electric eels (Electrophorus electricus) are a unique species used for behavioral research in the Vanderbilt Animal Care and Use Program. Few resources are available to describe the housing and handling of this species in captivity...

Volkmann, J. L., Evans, C. A., Buckmaster, C. 2018. Pigeons: Flying to new heights. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 6(1) (March), 33-34.

When singly or pair housed in cages, pigeons have a relatively small area in which to walk and stretch or flap their wings. More space is required to allow pigeons to be housed in numbers...

Larsen, H., Cronin, G., Smith, C. L. et al. 2017. Behaviour of free-range laying hens in distinct outdoor environments. Animal Welfare 26(3), 255-264.

The outdoor range in free-range, egg-production systems contains features that aim to promote the performance of natural behaviours. It is unclear what features of the range laying hens prefer and how these influence hen behaviour...

Bestman, M., Verwer, C., Brenninkmeyer, C. et al. 2017. Feather-pecking and injurious pecking in organic laying hens in 107 flocks from eight European countries. Animal Welfare 26(3), 355-363.

Feather-pecking and cannibalism may reduce the potential of organic husbandry to enhance the welfare of laying hens. We report risk factors for these issues based on a large survey of 107 commercial flocks in eight...

Sommerville, R., Ruiz, R., Averós, X. 2017. A meta-analysis on the effects of the housing environment on the behaviour, mortality, and performance of growing rabbits. Animal Welfare 26(2), 223-238.

Although the number of rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) produced in Europe is important, they are under-represented in welfare research. Studies on the effects of housing conditions have focused on performance and mortality. We conducted a meta-analysis...

Kluge, K., Larenza Menzies, M. P., Kloeppel, H. et al. 2017. Femoral and sciatic nerve blockades and incision site infiltration in rabbits undergoing stifle joint arthrotomy. Laboratory Animals 51(1), 54-64.

This study was designed to determine whether perineural injections of local anaesthetics decreases intraoperative nociception and improves postoperative analgesia in New Zealand White rabbits undergoing experimental stifle arthrotomy. All animals were anaesthetized using isoflurane and...

Nordquist, R., van der Staay, F., van Eerdenburg, F. et al. 2017. Mutilating procedures, management practices, and housing conditions that may affect the welfare of farm animals: Implications for welfare research. Animals 7(2), 12.

A number of mutilating procedures, such as dehorning in cattle and goats and beak trimming in laying hens, are common in farm animal husbandry systems in an attempt to prevent or solve problems, such as...

Chatigny, F., Kamunde, C., Creighton, C. M. et al. 2017. Uses and doses of local anesthetics in fish, amphibians, and reptiles. JAALAS 56(3), 244-253.

Local anesthetics are an integral part of routine pain management in mammals, yet their use is relatively limited in fish, amphibians and reptiles. These animals frequently undergo potentially painful surgical procedures and therefore could possibly...

Martin-Flores, M., Singh, B., Walsh, C. A. 2017. Effects of buprenorphine, methylnaltrexone, and their combination on gastrointestinal transit in healthy New Zealand White rabbits. JAALAS 56(2), 155-159.

Among the many analgesic agents available, buprenorphine appears to be the analgesic used most often in rabbits. Unfortunately, deleterious side effects of opioids, such as gastrointestinal stasis and anorexia, may discourage the use of these...

Holmes, J., Waters, D., Maisonave, I. et al. 2017. Social interaction for non-sibling pregnant New Zealand white rabbits on reproductive toxicology. Animal Technology and Welfare 16(2), 139-141.

Rabbits are gregarious animals that live in social groups in the wild so individually housing our animals, while meeting the present scientific objectives, restricts their natural social behaviour. How to meet the social needs of...

Zomeño, C., Birolo, M., Zuffellato, A. et al. 2017. Aggressiveness in group-housed rabbit does: Influence of group size and pen characteristics. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 194, 79-85.

The aim of this work was to study how the group size and the number of doorways in a pen may influence the aggressive interactions throughout the reproductive cycle among does kept in a part-time...

Hunniford, M. E., Widowski, T. M. 2017. Nest alternatives: Adding a wire partition to the scratch area affects nest use and nesting behaviour of laying hens in furnished cages. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 186, 29-34.

Furnished cages (FC) are designed to accommodate highly motivated behaviour patterns like nesting; however, how hens perceive the resources provided in FCs is not fully understood. Our previous research of hens in FCs with a...

Pettersson, I. C., Weeks, C. A., Nicol, C. J. 2017. The effect of ramp provision on the accessibility of the litter in single and multi-tier laying hen housing. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 186, 35-40.

Level changes in commercial laying hen loose-housing systems may be physically difficult for birds to negotiate, preventing or limiting access to resources such as the litter area and the outdoor range, and potentially increasing injury...

Stadig, L. M., Rodenburg, T. B., Ampe, B. et al. 2017. Effect of free-range access, shelter type and weather conditions on free-range use and welfare of slow-growing broiler chickens. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 192, 15-23.

Free-range access for broiler chickens can benefit animal welfare because the birds have access to a more natural environment and more opportunities to perform natural behaviours than in indoor systems. Also, they have more space...

Rault, J.-L., Taylor, P. S. 2017. Indoor side fidelity and outdoor ranging in commercial free-range chickens in single- or double-sided sheds. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 194, 48-53.

The ranging behaviour of broiler chickens kept in free-range housing systems remains poorly understood, despite access to the outdoor range being their main feature. We investigated the impact of allowing chickens to have range access...