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. 
Hankenson, F. C., Marx, J. O., Gordon, C. J. et al. 2018. Effects of rodent thermoregulation on animal models in the research environment. Comparative Medicine 68(6), 425–438.

To best promote animal wellbeing and the efficacy of biomedical models, scientific, husbandry, and veterinary professionals must consider the mechanisms, influences, and outcomes of rodent thermoregulation in contemporary research environments. Over the last 2 decades...

Lee, C. J., Tyler, C. R., Paull, G. C. et al. 2018. Can simple tank changes benefit the welfare of laboratory zebrafish Danio rerio? Journal of Fish Biology 92(3), 653-659.

This study examined the effects of simple changes in the tank environment on the wellbeing of laboratory-maintained zebrafish Danio rerio. Groups of D. rerio were either housed in stable environments (where they were maintained in...

Iske, C. J., Morris, C. L., Colpoys, J. D. et al. 2018. Nutrient evaluation of a pork by-product and its use as environmental enrichment for managed large exotic cats. PLOS ONE 13(9), e0202144.

North American zoological institutions typically feed ground raw meat diets to large exotic cats. These diets typically are nutritionally complete, but lack physical properties characteristic of whole prey. Lack of mastication and prey manipulation may...

Volgin, A. D., Yakovlev, O. V., Demin, K. A. et al. 2018. Understanding the role of environmental enrichment in zebrafish neurobehavioral models. Zebrafish 15(5), 425-432.

Environmental stimuli are critical in preclinical research that utilizes laboratory animals to model human brain disorders. The main goal of environmental enrichment (EE) is to provide laboratory animals with better choice of activity and greater...

Hestehave, S., Munro, G., Christensen, R. et al. 2017. Is there a reasonable excuse for not providing post-operative analgesia when using animal models of peripheral neuropathic pain for research purposes? PLOS ONE 12(11), e0188113.

Introduction: The induction of neuropathic pain-like behaviors in rodents often requires surgical intervention. This engages acute nociceptive signaling events that contribute to pain and stress post-operatively that from a welfare perspective demands peri-operative analgesic treatment...

Lopez-Luna, J., Al-Jubouri, Q., Al-Nuaimy, W. et al. 2017. Reduction in activity by noxious chemical stimulation is ameliorated by immersion in analgesic drugs in zebrafish. Journal of Experimental Biology 220(8), 1451-1458.

Research has recently demonstrated that larval zebrafish show similar molecular responses to nociception to those of adults. Our study explored whether unprotected larval zebrafish exhibited altered behaviour after exposure to noxious chemicals and screened a...

Thomas, A. A., Detilleux, J., Sandersen, C. F. et al. 2017. Minimally invasive technique for intrathecal administration of morphine in rats: Practicality and antinociceptive properties. Laboratory Animals 51(5), 479-489.

The intrathecal (IT) route of administration represents a means to reduce the dose of morphine administered for analgesia, potentially minimizing interactions between opioid effects and experimental outcomes. Perceived technical difficulty, and previously described invasive methods...

Hestehave, S., Munro, G., Brønnum Pedersen, T. et al. 2017. Antinociceptive effects of voluntarily ingested buprenorphine in the hot-plate test in laboratory rats. Laboratory Animals 51(3), 264-272.

Researchers performing experiments on animals should always strive towards the refinement of experiments, minimization of stress and provision of better animal welfare. An adequate analgesic strategy is important to improve post-operative recovery and welfare in...

Castelhano-Carlos, M. J., Baumans, V., Sousa, N. 2017. PhenoWorld: Addressing animal welfare in a new paradigm to house and assess rat behaviour. Laboratory Animals 51(1), 36-43.

The use of animals is essential in biomedical research. The laboratory environment where the animals are housed has a major impact on them throughout their lives and influences the outcome of animal experiments. Therefore, there...

Jirkof, P. 2017. Side effects of pain and analgesia in animal experimentation. Lab Animal 46(4), 123-128.

This review highlights selected effects of untreated pain and of widely used analgesics such as opioids, non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs and antipyretics, to illustrate the relevance of carefully planned, appropriate and controlled analgesia for greater reproducibility...

Pinelli, C., Leri, F., Turner, P. 2017. Long term physiologic and behavioural effects of housing density and environmental resource provision for adult male and female Sprague Dawley rats. Animals 7(6), 44.

There is considerable interest in refining laboratory rodent environments to promote animal well-being, as well as research reproducibility. Few studies have evaluated the long term impact of enhancing rodent environments with resources and additional cagemates...

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...

Brenneis, C., Westhof, A., Holschbach, J. et al. 2017. Automated tracking of motion and body weight for objective monitoring of rats in colony housing. JAALAS 56(1), 18-31.

Living together in large social communities within an enriched environment stimulates self-motivated activity in rats. We developed a modular housing system in which a single unit can accommodate as many as 48 rats and contains...

Kang, S. C., Jampachaisri, K., Seymour, T. L. et al. 2017. Use of liposomal bupivacaine for postoperative analgesia in an incisional pain model in rats (Rattus norvegicus). JAALAS 56(1), 63-68.

The local anesthetic bupivacaine is valuable for perioperative analgesia, but its use in the postoperative period is limited by its short duration of action. Here, we evaluated the application of a slow-release liposomal formulation of...

Alligood, C. A., Dorey, N. R., Mehrkam, L. R. et al. 2017. Applying behavior-analytic methodology to the science and practice of environmental enrichment in zoos and aquariums. Zoo Biology 36(3), 175–185.

Environmental enrichment in zoos and aquariums is often evaluated at two overlapping levels: published research and day‐to‐day institutional record keeping. Several authors have discussed ongoing challenges with small sample sizes in between‐groups zoological research and...

Damasceno, J., Genaro, G., Quirke, T. et al. 2017. The effects of intrinsic enrichment on captive felids. Zoo Biology 36(3), 186–192.

Environmental enrichment is a well‐known technique, which has been used to enhance the welfare of captive animals. The aim of this study is to investigate how three different forms of intrinsic enrichment, namely, a hay...

Kleefeld, S., Bannerton, K., Kelly, J.2017. Effect of moderate environmental enrichment on commonly used behavioural tests in rats. Animal Technology and Welfare 16(1), 75-76.

The environment that laboratory animals are housed in should reflect their natural habitats in a manner that can satisfy their innate physiological and behavioural needs. This includes nest building, hiding, exploring and foraging. Providing environmental...

Jones, T., Robinson, M., Leach, M. et al. 2017. Ultrasonic vocalisation as a measure of positive welfare in rats. Animal Technology and Welfare 16(2), 127-129.

Studies of animal welfare in laboratory animals have historically relied on the measurement of negative indicators rather than the assessment of positive indicators of welfare. Practical methods of welfare assessment are required to allow refinement...

Spiezio, C., Leonardi, C., Regaiolli, B. 2017. Assessing colour preference in Aldabra giant tortoises (Geochelone gigantea). Behavioural Processes 145, 60-64.

Tortoises perceive different colours and rely on the visual system to find food. However, few studies have considered colour preference in tortoises, especially in land species. The aim of this study is to investigate whether...

Mármol, F., Sánchez, J., Torres, M. N. et al. 2017. Environmental enrichment in the absence of wheel running produces beneficial behavioural and anti-oxidative effects in rats. Behavioural Processes 144, 66-71.

The effects of early environmental enrichment (EE) when solving a simple spatial task in adult male rats were assessed. After weaning, rats were housed in pairs in enriched or standard cages (EE and control groups)...

Buckley, D. P., Duggan, M. R., Anderson, M. J. 2017. Budgie in the mirror: An exploratory analysis of social behaviors and mirror use in the Budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus). Behavioural Processes 135, 66-70.

Despite their prevalent use amongst avian species, particularly in Budgerigars, the relationship between mirror use and social behaviors is in need of elucidation. After establishing social behavior measures (e.g., agonistic and pair-bond data) in a...

Lopez-Luna, J., Canty, M. N., Al-Jubouri, Q. et al. 2017. Behavioural responses of fish larvae modulated by analgesic drugs after a stress exposure. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 195, 115-120.

Fish are known to respond to a wide range of irritant chemicals, displaying clear behavioural changes after exposure to potentially noxious stimuli. Recent evidence shows that these agents can have an impact on larval forms...

Lopez-Luna, J., Al-Jubouri, Q., Al-Nuaimy, W. et al. 2017. Impact of analgesic drugs on the behavioural responses of larval zebrafish to potentially noxious temperatures. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 188, 97-105.

Recent studies have demonstrated that fish exhibit behavioural responses to noxious stimuli, including mechanical, chemical or thermal stimulation. In many cases, these responses are characterised by a reduction in the locomotor activity, which in turn...

Schroeder, P. G., Sneddon, L. U. 2017. Exploring the efficacy of immersion analgesics in zebrafish using an integrative approach. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 187, 93-102.

Home Office guidelines recommend the use of analgesics for all protected species, including fish during scientific procedures likely to result in pain, suffering, distress and lasting harm. In larger fish species some drugs have shown...

Williams, I., Hoppitt, W., Grant, R. 2017. The effect of auditory enrichment, rearing method and social environment on the behavior of zoo-housed psittacines (Aves: Psittaciformes); implications for welfare. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 186, 85-92.

The psychological and physiological effects of different genres of music are well documented in humans. These concepts have also been studied in kenneled dogs and some exotic animals, implying that animals may experience benefits similar...