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. 
Woods, J. M., Lane, E. K., Miller, L. J. 2020. Preference assessments as a tool to evaluate environmental enrichment. Zoo Biology 39(6), 382-390.

Environmental enrichment is an important tool utilized to improve animal welfare in zoological institutions through opportunity for mental and physical stimulation. Many past studies have focused on the impact enrichment has on animal behavior; however...

McMahon, S. A., Wigham, E. 2020. ‘All Ears’: A questionnaire of 1516 owner perceptions of the mental abilities of pet rabbits, subsequent resource provision, and the effect on welfare. Animals 10(10), 1730.

Pet rabbit welfare is a hidden crisis: Inappropriately housed, fed, and not routinely provided healthcare—rabbits can often suffer painful conditions and shortened lifespans. This study provides novel understanding of owners’ perceptions of rabbits’ mental capabilities...

Miller, L. J., Vicino, G. A., Sheftel, J. et al. 2020. Behavioral diversity as a potential indicator of positive animal welfare. Animals 10(7), 1211.

Modern day zoos and aquariums continuously assess the welfare of their animals and use evidence to make informed management decisions. Historically, many of the indicators of animal welfare used to assess the collection are negative...

Veasey, J. S. 2020. Can zoos ever be big enough for large wild animals? A review using an expert panel assessment of the psychological priorities of the Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) as a model species. Animals 10(9), 1536.

The ecology of large, wide-ranging carnivores appears to make them vulnerable to conservation challenges in the wild and welfare challenges in captivity. This poses an ethical dilemma for the zoo community and supports the case...

Van Wijk, H., Haida, D., Duncan, C. et al. 2020. Surgery refinements improve success rates in rat bile collection. Animal Technology and Welfare 19(3), 251-254.

This poster compares the model success rates using 2 different housing regimes during recovery from surgery. Catheters were placed in the bile duct to collect bile; a second catheter was secured into the duodenum where...

Coda, K. A., Fortman, J. D., García, K. D. 2020. Behavioral effects of cage size and environmental enrichment in New Zealand white rabbits. JAALAS 59(4), 356-364.

One of the goals of environmental enrichment is to encourage species-typical behaviors, while discouraging abnormal behaviors or stereotypies. Assessing the effectiveness of various enrichment modalities can be challenging, particularly for prey species such as rabbits...

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...

Stewart, L. A., Imai, D. M., Beckett, L. et al. 2020. Injection-site reactions to sustained-release meloxicam in Sprague–Dawley rats. JAALAS 59(6), 726-731.

An extended-release formulation of the NSAID meloxicam (MSR) is used to provide 72 h of continuous analgesia in many species, including rodents. Although standard formulations of meloxicam are frequently used in rats with no observable...

Podturkin, A. A., Papaeva, N. 2020. Development of an environmental enrichment programme: Case study of white Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris bengalensis) and jaguar (Panthera onca) at Moscow Zoo. Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research 8(2), 139-145.

Zoos are urged to implement enrichment programmes that include constant feedback to increase efficacy. However, such work is time consuming for zookeepers. The goal of this case study was to establish an enrichment programme in...

Rojas-Carvajal, M., Sequeira-Cordero, A., Brenes, J. C. 2020. Neurobehavioral effects of restricted and unpredictable environmental enrichment in rats. Frontiers in Pharmacology 11, 674.

To study how motivational factors modulate experience-dependent neurobehavioral plasticity, we modify a protocol of environmental enrichment (EE) in rats. We assumed that the benefits derived from EE might vary according to the level of incentive...

Pisula, W., Modlinska, K., Chrzanowska, A. 2019. Behavioural response to the environmental changes of various types in Lister-Hooded male rats. Scientific Reports 9, 7111.

The animal preference for complexity is most clearly demonstrated when the environmental change takes the form of an increase in complexity. Therefore, one of the potential difficulties in interpretation is that the preference for perceptual...

Eagan, T. 2019. Evaluation of enrichment for reptiles in zoos. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 22(1), 69-77.

Studies on environmental enrichment for reptiles are lacking in the scientific literature. Although the literature reflects a limited take on reptile enrichment in the zoological community, it may not be the case in reality as...

Bill, J., Rauterberg, S. L., Stracke, J. et al. 2019. Prevalence and severity of tail lesions as a possible welfare indicator for rabbit does. Animal Welfare 28(4), 511-518.

The impact of behavioural disorders on animal welfare in modern animal husbandry has been much debated. While other abnormal behaviours have been explored at length, there are a paucity of studies on tail-biting in rabbits...

Mastellone, V., Bovera, F., Musco, N. et al. 2019. Mirrors improve rabbit natural behavior in a free-range breeding system. Animals 9(8), 533.

The aim of this research was to evaluate the possible usefulness of mirrors in improving rabbit behavior in a free-range breeding system. Three groups (each consisting of nine replicates of three animals) were compared: isolated...

Trocino, A., Zomeño, C., Filiou, E. et al. 2019. The use of environmental enrichments affects performance and behavior of growing rabbits housed in collective pens. Animals 9(8), 537.

This study assessed the effects of an elevated plastic-slatted platform and/or a plastic hiding tube in collective pens with large group sizes (27 or 36 rabbits/pen; 16 rabbits/m2) on the performance and welfare of rabbits...

Raillard, M., Detotto, C., Grepper, S. et al. 2019. Anaesthetic and perioperative management of 14 male New Zealand white rabbits for calvarial bone surgery. Animals 9(11), 896.

Calvarial bone surgery on rabbits is frequently performed. This report aims to document a simple and practical anaesthetic and perioperative management for this procedure. Fourteen male New Zealand white rabbits were included in the study...

LaFollette, M. R., Swan, M. P., Smith, R. K. et al. 2019. The effects of cage color and light intensity on rat affect during heterospecific play. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 219, 104834.

Environmental enrichment provides physiological and emotional benefits to laboratory rodents. Red tinted shelters are a common enrichment found in laboratories that provide rodents with a hiding space shielded from bright light. Red tinting alters the...

King, J. 2018. Report of the Enrichment; Awareness and Uptake Workshop 2018 on 26th June at College Court, Leicester. Animal Technology and Wefare 17(3), 163-167. [Meeting Report]

The point of the session was to have a collaborative discussion about environmental enrichment. The organisers wanted to know people’s experiences with enrichment, the barriers they have faced, if they have overcome any, and also...

Stevens, C., Hawkins, P., Lovell-Badge, R. et al. 2019. Report of the 2018 RSPCA/UFAW Rodent and Rabbit Welfare Group meeting. Animal Technology and Welfare 18(2), 81-91.

The RSPCA/UFAW Rodent (and now Rabbit) Working Group has held a one-day meeting every autumn for the last 25 years, so that its members can discuss current welfare research, exchange views on welfare issues and...

King, J. 2019. Team awesome: Why we can be proud. Animal Technology and Welfare 18(2), 127-131.

The presentation I gave at IAT Congress 2019 was based on the changes and refinements the University of Dundee, Medical School Resource Unit (MSRU) has made over the past 18 months. These changes, described in...

Faggionato Kimura, L., Mattaraia, V. G. M., Picolo, G. 2019. Distinct environmental enrichment protocols reduce anxiety but differentially modulate pain sensitivity in rats. Behavioural Brain Research 364, 442-446.

Environmental enrichment (EE) can alter anxiety as well as perception of nociceptive stimuli, suggesting a relationship between well-being and analgesia. Considering that, we aimed to evaluate the influence of different EE types on anxiety and...

Papadakakis, A., Sidiropoulou, K., Panagis, G. 2019. Music exposure attenuates anxiety- and depression-like behaviors and increases hippocampal spine density in male rats. Behavioural Brain Research 372, 112023.

Epidemiological and clinical studies suggest that early-life stress (ELS) may lead to the development of mental disorders in adulthood. Maternal separation (MS) is a valid animal model of ELS that produces detrimental effects on brain...

Mora-Gallegos, A., Fornaguera, J. 2019. The effects of environmental enrichment and social isolation and their reversion on anxiety and fear conditioning. Behavioural Processes 158, 59-69.

Animal models of fear and anxiety provide important insight into anxiety-related symptoms in humans. Environmental physical conditions and social contact influence behavior and brain plasticity particularly at early developmental stages and have long lasting effects...

Modlinska, K., Chrzanowska, A., Pisula, W. 2019. The impact of changeability of enriched environment on exploration in rats. Behavioural Processes 164, 78-85.

Although the positive effect of environmental enrichment on animals’ cognitive capacities is well-known, it remains unclear what role changeability plays in this context. Our study aims to analyse the impact of environmental changeability on the...

Scarola, S. J., Perdomo Trejo, J. R., Granger, M. E. et al. 2019. Immunomodulatory effects of stress and environmental enrichment in Long–Evans rats (Rattus norvegicus). Comparative Medicine 69(1), 35–47.

Stress can influence the secretion of neuroendocrine mediators, thereby exposing immune cells to altered signaling and interactions. Here we investigated the synergetic effect of stress and environmental enrichment on the immune response of Long–Evans rats...