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. 
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...

McCullagh, E. A., McCullagh, P., Klug, A. et al. 2017. Effects of an extended cage-change interval on ammonia levels and reproduction in Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus). JAALAS 56(6), 713-717.

Prompted by the cage cleanliness of Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus), we evaluated a prolonged cage-change interval. We compared the effects of a 2-wk and 6-wk cage-change schedule on ammonia levels, temperature, humidity, and reproductive performance...

Gordon, C. J., Puckett, E. T., Repasky, E. S. et al. 2017. A device that allows rodents to behaviorally thermoregulate when housed in vivariums. JAALAS 56(2), 173-176.

Laboratories and vivariums typically are maintained at ambient temperatures of 20 to 24 °C, leading to cold stress in mice. When mice are inactive and sleeping during the light phase, their zone of thermoneutrality associated...

von Keyserlingk, M. A. G., Amorim Cestari, A., Franks, B. 2017. Dairy cows value access to pasture as highly as fresh feed. Scientific Reports 7, 44953.

Many dairy cows in the developed world are now housed exclusively indoors with fewer than 5% of the 10 million lactating cows in the United States having access to pasture during the grazing season. Indoor...

Simpson, D. 2017. Investigation of transportation on rat acclimatisation using novel cage side recording equipment (Rodent Big Brother). Animal Technology and Welfare 16(1), 1-12.

The transportation of animals from supplier to experimental facility is one of the biggest stressors to animals in research. Transportation unavoidably causes stress and when the animals arrive at the testing facility they require a...

Hawkins, P., McNeilly, A., Watson, J. et al. 2017. Report of the 2016 RSPCA/UFAW Rodent and Rabbit Welfare Group meeting. Animal Technology and Welfare 16(2), 77-86.

The RSPCA/UFAW Rodent (and now Rabbit) Welfare Group held a one-day meeting on 1 November 2016 at the University of Edinburgh and was attended by 70 delegates. Presentation topics included refinements in blood sampling rodents...

Laaksonen, S., Nevalainen, T., Ketola, J. et al. 2017. Behaviour, stress and welfare of Sprague Dawley rats (Rattus norvegicus) on diet board feeding for 24 months. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 194, 86-94.

Diet board (DB) feeding aims to reduce the health hazards associated with ad libitum (AL) feeding. Rats have to gnaw wood to detach food from the DB, reducing their food consumption. We studied the welfare...

Mandel, R., Nicol, C. J. 2017. Re-direction of maternal behaviour in dairy cows. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 195, 24-31.

In the milk producing industry, most aspects of maternal behaviour are discouraged, but milk production is actively maintained in the absence of the calf. The process of milk let down, is mediated, at least partly...

Van Os, J. M. C., Mintline, E. M., DeVries, T. J. et al. 2017. Motivation of naïve feedlot cattle to obtain grain and individual responses to novelty. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 197, 68-74.

Beef cattle may be fattened before slaughter using a high-energy, grain-based diet. Although previous research suggests cattle prefer grain, their motivation to obtain this feed has not been quantified. The objective of this study was...

Buchli, C., Raselli, A., Bruckmaier, R. et al. 2017. Contact with cows during the young age increases social competence and lowers the cardiac stress reaction in dairy calves. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 187, 1-7.

Separating calf and cow within 24h after birth is common practice in dairy farms. Some dairy farmers, however, practice a rearing system in which the calves are nursed by their dam or by foster cows...

Meagher, R. K., Weary, D. M., von Keyserlingk, M. A. G. 2017. Some like it varied: Individual differences in preference for feed variety in dairy heifers. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 195, 8-14.

Motivation to explore is believed to be widespread among animals, but exploratory behaviour varies within populations. Offering variety in feed is one simple way of allowing intensively housed dairy cattle to express exploratory foraging behaviour...

Earley, B., McNamara, J. D., Jerrams, S. J. et al. 2017. Effect of concrete slats, three mat types and out-wintering pads on performance and welfare of finishing beef steers. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 59(1), 34.

The objective was to investigate the effect of placing mats on concrete slatted floors on performance, behaviour, hoof condition, dirt scores, physiological and immunological variables of beef steers, and to compare responses with animals on...

Lidster, K., Readman, G. D., Prescott, M. J. et al. 2017. International survey on the use and welfare of zebrafish Danio rerio in research. Journal of Fish Biology 90(5), 1891-1905.

A survey was conducted regarding zebrafish Danio rerio use for scientific research with a focus on: anaesthesia and euthanasia; housing and husbandry; breeding and production; refinement opportunities. A total of 98 survey responses were received...

Knapek, K. J., Adams, M. K., Ayers, J. D. 2017. What’s in our chamber of secrets? Python housing in a laboratory setting. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 5(4) (December), 16-19.

At Colorado State University we have an investigator who requested care for 2 different species of pythons, the green tree python (Morelia viridis) and the ball python (Python reguis), to study the pathology of an...

Danner, L., Rao, V. P. 2017. Should rat enrichment devices be used beyond a month? Laboratory Animal Science Professional 5(1) (March), 41-43.

Enrichment devices made of materials such as nylon and wood are common gnawing devices used in animal facilities. In most institutions, these devices are used for a limited period and then discarded. At Pfizer, enrichment...

Monreal-Pawlowsky, T., Marco-Cabedo, V., Manteca, X. et al. 2017. Environmental enrichment facilitates release and survival of an injured loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) after ten years in captivity. Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research 5(4), 182-186.

In June 2006 a loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) was admitted to a rescue centre on the Mediterranean coast with severe fishing net entanglement in its fore right flipper. The flipper could not be saved...

Pilatti, J. A., Corrêa Vieira, F. M. 2017. Environment, behavior and welfare aspects of dairy cows reared in compost bedded pack barns system. Journal of Animal Behaviour and Biometeorology 5(3), 97-105.

The compost bedded pack barns is a loose housing confinement system for dairy cows, which aims to provide greater comfort in the resting area. Therefore, objective of this review was to investigate the environment, behavior...

McCarthy, D., Windsor, P. A., Harris, C. et al. 2016. Effect of topically applied anaesthetic formulation on the sensitivity of scoop dehorning wounds in calves. PLOS ONE 11(9), e0163181.

The post-operative effects of three formulations of topical anaesthetic and a cornual nerve block on the sensitivity of scoop dehorning wounds in calves were compared in two trials. In Trial 1, 21 female Holstein dairy...

Foditsch, C., Oikonomou, G., Machado, V. S. et al. 2016. Lameness prevalence and risk factors in large dairy farms in upstate New York. Model development for the prediction of claw horn disruption lesions. PLOS ONE 11(1), e0146718.

The main objectives of this prospective cohort study were a) to describe lameness prevalence at drying off in large high producing New York State herds based on visual locomotion score (VLS) and identify potential cow...

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...

Önal, U., Langdon, C. 2016. Diet size preference of zebrafish (Danio rerio) larvae fed on cross-linked protein-walled capsules. Zebrafish 13(6), 556-562.

To optimize diet particle size for ingestion by zebrafish larvae, Danio rerio, a series of diet selection experiments were carried out using two different length classes: 5-day-old, first feeding larvae with a mean standard length...

Goodwin, N., Westall, L., Karp, N. A. et al. 2016. Evaluating and optimizing fish health and welfare during experimental procedures. Zebrafish 13(S1), S127-S131.

Many facilities house fish in separate static containers post-procedure, for example, while awaiting genotyping results. This ensures fish can be easily identified, but it does not allow for provision of continuous filtered water or diet...

Varga, Z. M., Wilson, C., Alestrøm, P. 2016. European Zebrafish Meeting 2015 Husbandry Session Report. Zebrafish 13(3), 230-231.

A workshop to address husbandry and animal welfare was held during the 9th European Zebrafish Meeting in Oslo, Norway, from June 28 to July 2, 2015. The husbandry workshop took place on Monday, June 29...

Curtis, G. C., Argo, C. McG., Jones, D. et al. 2016. Impact of feeding and housing systems on disease incidence in dairy calves. Veterinary Record 179(20), 512.

Contentious issues in calf rearing include milk feeding level and single versus group housing. The current study was performed on a high-producing 170 Holstein cow dairy farm to investigate the impact of nutrition and housing...

Koontz, J. M., Kumsher, D. M., Kelly, R. 3rd et al. 2016. Effect of 2 bedding materials on ammonia levels in individually ventilated cages. JAALAS 55(1), 25–28.

This study sought to identify an optimal rodent bedding and cage-change interval to establish standard procedures for the IVC in our rodent vivarium. Disposable cages were prefilled with either corncob or α-cellulose bedding and were...