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. 
Costa, J. H. C., Cantor, M. C., Adderley, N. A. et al. 2019. Key animal welfare issues in commercially raised dairy calves: social environment, nutrition, and painful procedures. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 99(4), 649-660.

Dairy calf welfare concerns are growing and new evidence suggests that the early life environment influences appropriate physical, behavioral, and cognitive development lasting into adulthood. This review highlights key evidence for the impacts of housing...

Sloman, K, A., Bouyoucos, I. A., Brooks, E. J. et al. 2019. Ethical considerations in fish research. Journal of Fish Biology 94(4), 556-577.

In this review, we focus primarily on the refinement of common methods used in fish research based on emerging knowledge with the aim of improving the welfare of fish used in scientific studies. We consider...

Solås, M. R., Skoglund, H., Salvanes, A. G. V. 2019. Can structural enrichment reduce predation mortality and increase recaptures of hatchery-reared Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L. fry released into the wild? Journal of Fish Biology 95(2), 575-588.

Captive-reared fish often have poor survival in the wild and may fail to boost threatened populations. Enrichment during the nursery period can in some circumstances generate a broader behavioural repertoire than conventional hatchery production. Yet...

De, K., Kumar, D., Mohapatra, A. et al. 2019. Effect of bedding for reducing the postshearing stress in sheep. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 33, 27-30.

Shearing of sheep is routine management. However, the shearing induces stress in the animal. To reduce the postshearing stress, providing bedding may be an effective method. Therefore, the present study was initiated to assess the...

Eichner, M., Garcia, K. 2019. Increase in morbidity and mortality in a shipment of red-eared slider turtles (Trachemys scripta elegans). Laboratory Animals 53(6), 634–640.

A cohort of captive-bred red-eared slider turtles, Trachemys scripta, was received from a commercial vendor. Shortly after arrival, several turtles presented as lethargic with subjectively pale skin and multifocal areas of cotton-like tufts in the...

Nie, C., Ban, L., Ning, Z. et al. 2019. Feather colour affects the aggressive behaviour of chickens with the same genotype on the dominant white (I) locus. PLOS ONE 14(5), e0215921.

Aggression in chickens is a serious economic and animal welfare issue in poultry farming. Pigmentation traits have been documented to be associated with animal behaviour. Chicken pecking behaviour has been found to be related to...

Correia de Lima Almeida Paz, I., Correia de Lima Almeida, I., Milbradt, E. L. et al. 2019. Effects of analgesic and noise stimulus in gait score assessment. PLOS ONE 14(1), e0208827.

This experiment was carried out aiming to assess walking manner and speed of broiler chickens with different gait scores (GS), with or without sound stimulus, and with or without administration of analgesic. To that end...

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...

Sanchez-Casanova, R., Sarmiento-Franco, L., Segura-Correa, J. et al. 2019. Effects of outdoor access and indoor stocking density on behaviour and stress in broilers in the subhumid tropics. Animals 9(12), 1016.

Studies investigating the welfare of commercial-line broiler chickens raised in houses with outdoor access in the tropics are scarce, and none have investigated whether responses vary according to indoor conditions. Hence, we assessed the effects...

Hubert, S., Al-Ajeeli, M., Bailey, C. et al. 2019. The role of housing environment and dietary protein source on the gut microbiota of chicken. Animals 9(12), 1085.

The gut microbiota of chicken has received much attention due to its importance for bird health, food safety, and performance. In the United States, the impending transition to cage-free housing environments has raised many questions...

Makowska, I. J., Weary, D. M. 2019. A good life for laboratory rodents? ILAR Journal 60(3), 373-388.

Most would agree that animals in research should be spared “unnecessary” harm, pain, or distress, and there is also growing interest in providing animals with some form of environmental enrichment. But is this the standard...

Eusemann, B. K., Baulain, U., Schrader, L. et al. 2018. Radiographic examination of keel bone damage in living laying hens of different strains kept in two housing systems. PLOS ONE 13(5), e0194974.

A high prevalence of deviations and fractures of the keel bone is a widespread welfare problem in laying hens. The aim of this study was to experimentally investigate this multifactorial problem throughout the laying period...

Toscano, M., Booth, F., Richards, G. et al. 2018. Modeling collisions in laying hens as a tool to identify causative factors for keel bone fractures and means to reduce their occurrence and severity. PLOS ONE 13(7), e0200025.

Keel fractures represent a major productivity and welfare issue for the laying hen industry with greater than 50% of birds in recent surveys across various commercial operations and nations exhibiting some form of damage by...

Santurtun, E., Broom, D. M., Phillips, C. J. C. 2018. A review of factors affecting the welfare of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Animal Welfare 27(3), 193-204.

In the expanding salmon industry, many farmers use production methods that could result in poor welfare of the fish at various points of their lifecycle. We have reviewed methods used for producing salmon for food...

Nakayama, H., Katayama, K., Onabe, Y. et al. 2018. Dried rotifer sheet: A novel live feed for rearing first-feeding larvae. Zebrafish 15(3), 291–294.

Rotifers are now becoming a standard live feed for first-feeding larvae, because of their easy rearing protocol and improved growth and survival rate, compared with other fish feed, paramecia, and processed powder fish feeds. In...

Zloch, A., Kuchling, S., Hess, M. et al. 2018. Influence of alternative husbandry systems on postmortem findings and prevalence of important bacteria and parasites in layers monitored from end of rearing until slaughter, Veterinary Record 182(12), 350.

In the present study 66 layer flocks housed in different alternative husbandry systems were monitored from placement of birds on the farm until slaughter to evaluate a possible influence on the occurrence of selected non-infectious...

Angell, J. W., Grove-White, D. H., Duncan, J. S. 2018. Sheep and farm level factors associated with footrot: A longitudinal repeated cross-sectional study of sheep on six farms in the UK. Veterinary Record 182(10), 293.

Footrot is an ovine foot disease of infectious origin and a cause of serious welfare and economic compromise in affected animals and flocks. The development of footrot in sheep is associated with the infectious agent...

Douglas, F., Sargison, N. D. 2018. Husbandry procedures at the point of lambing with reference to perinatal lamb mortality. Veterinary Record 182(2), 52.

Any management practices which ensure correct nutrition of pregnant ewes, avoidance of dystocia, provision of energy and protective antibodies through colostrum, and a strong maternal bond will enhance the perinatal lamb survival rate.2 However, the...

Bacon, H. 2018. Behaviour-based husbandry—A holistic approach to the management of abnormal repetitive behaviors. Animals 8(7), 103.

The field of zoo animal welfare science has developed significantly over recent years. However despite this progress in terms of scientific research, globally, zoo animals still face many welfare challenges. Recently, animal welfare frameworks such...

Chen, S., Xiang, H., Zhu, X. et al. 2018. Free dietary choice and free-range rearing improve the product quality, gait score, and microbial richness of chickens. Animals 8(6), 84.

Poultry welfare has been extensively studied; however, there is a lack of rigorous scientific knowledge relating to the different aspects of welfare factors and how this may contribute to the production quantity and product quality...

Smith, L., Hallager, S., Kendrick, E. et al. 2018. Husbandry of wild-caught song sparrows (Melospiza melodia). Zoo Biology 37(3), 206–209.

Conservation and research efforts occasionally rely upon bringing wild animals into human care to establish breeding programs and to understand their biology. Wild‐caught birds may have husbandry requirements that differ from captive‐reared animals due, in...

Hunniford, M. E., Mason, G. J., Widowski, T. M. 2018. Laying hens’ preferences for nest surface type are affected by enclosure. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 201, 7-14.

The nest surfaces preferred by hens are inconsistent with those typically provided in commercial settings. However, little research has explored hens’ preferences for commercially available nest surfaces. Our objective was to compare hens’ preferences for...

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...

Sirovnik, J., Würbel, H., Toscano, M. J. 2018. Feeder space affects access to the feeder, aggression, and feed conversion in laying hens in an aviary system. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 198, 75-82.

In laying hens, minimal requirements for feeder space (cm per bird) are based primarily on data from small groups of hens (n

Jung, L., Knierim, U. 2018. Are practice recommendations for the prevention of feather pecking in laying hens in non-cage systems in line with the results of experimental and epidemiological studies? Applied Animal Behaviour Science 200, 1-12.

Feather pecking (FP) in laying hens is an important animal welfare problem in practice, despite extensive research and increasing sources of advice for farmers. We aimed to give an overview over results from experimental and...