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. 
Sreelatha, H. V., Palekkodan, H., Fasaludeen, A. et al. 2024. Refinement of the motorised laminectomy-assisted rat spinal cord injury model by analgesic treatment. PLOS ONE 19(1), e0294720.

Usage and reporting of analgesia in animal models of spinal cord injury (SCI) have been sparse and requires proper attention. The majority of experimental SCI research uses rats as an animal model. This study aimed...

Golledge, H., Richardson, C. (Eds.) 2024. The UFAW Handbook on the Care and Management of Laboratory and Other Research Animals (9th ed.). Wiley-Blackwell. 1040 p.

The latest edition of the seminal reference on the care and management of laboratory and research animals. The newly revised ninth edition of The UFAW Handbook on the Care and Management of Laboratory and Other...

Kylie, J., Cooper, D. M., Kurpinski, J. K. et al. 2024. Evaluation of potential low-stress handling methods in Crl:CDSD rats (Rattus norvegicus). JAALAS 63(1), 10–19.

Low-stress handling methods have been studied in detail in mice, but relatively little research exists concerning preferred handling methods in rats. Most recommendations for low-stress handling of rats have been extrapolated from the mouse literature...

Bellini, L., Schrank, M., Veladiano, I. A. et al. 2023. Retrospective comparison of the effects of laryngeal mask and endotracheal tube on some cardio-respiratory variables in pet rabbits undergoing anaesthesia for elective gonadectomy. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 65(1), 10.

Endotracheal intubation in rabbits is challenging and supraglottic airway devices, such as laryngeal masks (LMA), represent an alternative as they are easy to insert, and do not stimulate the larynx requiring therefore a lighter plane...

Farag, A., Mandour, A. S., Hendawy, H. et al. 2023. A review on experimental surgical models and anesthetic protocols of heart failure in rats. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 10, 1103229.

Heart failure (HF) is a serious health and economic burden worldwide, and its prevalence is continuously increasing. Current medications effectively moderate the progression of symptoms, and there is a need for novel preventative and reparative...

Hernández-Arteaga, E., Ågmo, A. 2023. Seminatural environments for rodent behavioral testing: A representative design improving animal welfare and enhancing replicability. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 17, 1192213.

The low replicability of scientific studies has become an important issue. One possible cause is low representativeness of the experimental design employed. Already in the 1950’s, Egon Brunswick pointed out that experimental setups ideally should...

Kinally, A., Onions, L., Glenn, S. 2023. Validating the use of box training as a refinement to rabbit handling. Animal Technology and Welfare 22(1), 35–40.

In the wild, rabbits are prey animals and so the act of being picked up and handled can be extremely stressful for them. Yet, the most used method of handling laboratory rabbits is to grasp...

Kumar, P., Abubakar, A. A., Imlan, J. C. et al. 2023. Importance of knife sharpness during slaughter: Shariah and Kosher perspective and scientific validation. Animals 13(11), 1751.

Halal and kosher slaughter have given the utmost importance to the sharpness of knives during the slaughter of animals. A sharp knife of appropriate dimension (blade length) makes slaughter less painful during neck severance and...

Łapiński, S., Niedbała, P., Markowska, K. et al. 2023. The effects of age, size, and cage complexity on the behaviour of farmed female chinchillas (Chinchilla lanigera). Scientific Reports 13(1), 6108.

Even though chinchillas have been farmed for a century, there are not many studies concerning their behaviour in captivity or their optimal housing conditions, both of which are important factors in the assessment of their...

Morgado, J. N., Lamonaca, E., Santeramo, F. G. et al. 2023. Effects of management strategies on animal welfare and productivity under heat stress: A synthesis. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 10, 1145610.

Climate change includes different dramatic events, and among them, heat stress exposition is the strongest phenomenon affecting the livestock sector. The effects of heat stress events on animal welfare are complex and the economic impacts...

Paneru, B., Pent, G. J., Nastasi, S. et al. 2023. Effect of silvopasture system on fearfulness and leg health in fast-growing broiler chickens. PLOS ONE 18(3), e0282923.

A silvopasture system intentionally integrates trees, forages, and livestock, allowing dual land use. These systems can provide high-quality habitat for broiler chickens; however, such systems have not been widely adopted by the broiler industry in...

Peruga, M., Kawala, B., Sarul, M. et al. 2023. Are currently selected laboratory animals useful in the research of how female hormones influence orthodontic biomechanics? Animals 13(4), 629.

Animal testing was and remains the only method of introducing a certain treatment and medical procedure on humans. On the other hand, animals have their rights resulting from applicable legal acts, including Directive 2010/63/EU and...

Silva-Reis, R., Faustino-Rocha, A. I., Silva, J. et al. 2023. Studying and analyzing humane endpoints in the fructose-fed and streptozotocin-injected rat model of diabetes. Animals 13(8), 1397.

This work aimed to define a humane endpoint scoring system able to objectively identify signs of animal suffering in a rat model of type 2 diabetes. Sprague-Dawley male rats were divided into control and induced...

Sokołowicz, Z., Dykiel, M., Topczewska, J. et al. 2023. A comparison of the plumage condition of three egg-laying poultry genotypes housed in non-cage systems. Animals 13(2), 185.

The study covered a total of 810 hens in 3 groups (housing systems) of 270 hens each. The plumage condition of laying hens raised in various types of alternative housing systems, i.e., in deep litter...

Warwick, C., Pilny, A., Steedman, C. et al. 2023. Mobile zoos and other itinerant animal handling events: Current status and recommendations for future policies. Animals 13(2), 214.

Mobile zoos are events in which non-domesticated (exotic) and domesticated species are transported to venues such as schools, hospitals, parties, and community centres, for the purposes of education, entertainment, or social and therapeutic assistance. We...

Williams, E., Hunton, V., Hosey, G. et al. 2023. The impact of visitors on non-primate species in zoos: A quantitative review. Animals 13(7), 1178.

Visitors are a prominent feature in the lives of zoo animals, and their presence can cause a range of impacts on zoo animals (typically classed as positive, negative or neutral impacts), commonly referred to as...

Holt, R. V., Vas, J., Vasdal, G. et al. 2023. A buffet of litters – Broiler chickens behave differently according to litter type and freshness. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 260, 105856.

Poultry are usually provided with a single litter type that may not satisfy all litter-directed behavioural functions and may lose functional value over time due to soiling and degradation. We investigated this hypothesis in two...

Anderson, M. G., Johnson, A. M., Jacobs, L. et al. 2023. Influence of perch-provision timing on anxiety and fearfulness in laying hens. Animals 13(19), 3003.

Perches can enhance laying hen welfare, but their effectiveness might be age-dependent. We investigated early and late perch access effects on anxiety and fear in pullets through attention bias (AB) and tonic immobility (TI) tests...

Brando, S., Norman, M. 2023. Handling and training of wild animals: Evidence and ethics-based approaches and best practices in the modern zoo. Animals 13(14), 2247.

There is an ethical responsibility to provide all animals living in human care with optimal and positive well-being. As animals living in zoos and aquariums frequently interact with their human caregivers as part of their...

Cooper, D. M., Yamaguchi, N., Macdonald, D. W. et al. 2023. Getting to the meat of it: The effects of a captive diet upon the skull morphology of the lion and tiger. Animals 13(23), 3616.

Zoo animals are crucial for conserving and potentially re-introducing species to the wild, yet it is known that the morphology of captive animals differs from that of wild animals. It is important to know how...

Kim, S., Kim, N., Kim, H. et al. 2023. Various endoscopic approaches for removal of proventricular foreign bodies in parrots—Three case reports. Animals 13(24), 3839.

Although the use of incision-free endoscopy for foreign body (FB) removal in dogs and cats has been extensively documented, its application in birds remains limited. Thus, we present the endoscopic removal of gastrointestinal (GI) FBs...

Kodaira, V., Siriani, A. L. R., Medeiros, H. P. et al. 2023. Assessment of preference behavior of layer hens under different light colors and temperature environments in long-time footage using a computer vision system. Animals 13(15), 2426.

As for all birds, the behavior of chickens is largely determined by environmental conditions. In many production systems, light intensity is low and red feather strains have low contrast with the background, making it impossible...

Loader, A., Rose, P. 2023. Age-related change in the association choices of two species of juvenile flamingos. Animals 13(16), 2623.

Flamingos are colonial species commonly kept in zoos, well known for their bright plumage and elaborate courtship displays. This project aimed to determine the differences in flock position and association preferences of juvenile Greater Flamingos...

Martinez-Lopez, S., Angel-Gomis, E., Sanchez-Ardid, E. et al. 2023. The 3Rs in experimental liver disease. Animals 13(14), 2357.

Patients with cirrhosis present multiple physiological and immunological alterations that play a very important role in the development of clinically relevant secondary complications to the disease. Experimentation in animal models is essential to understand the...

Montalcini, C. M., Petelle, M. B., Toscano, M. J. 2023. Commercial hatchery practices have long-lasting effects on laying hens’ spatial behaviour and health. PLOS ONE 18(12), e0295560.

The commercial hatchery process is globally standardized and exposes billions of day-old layer chicks to stress every year. By alleviating this early stress, on-farm hatching is thought to improve animal welfare, yet little is known...