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. 

Most regulations governing animal experimentation require that the harms expected to be incurred by animal subjects should be balanced against the likely benefits of the project. Too often, however, expected human benefits are based on...

A respected resource for decades, the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals has been updated by a committee of experts, taking into consideration input from the scientific and laboratory animal communities and...

To do justice to the diverse approaches to enrichment and behavioral management around the world would entail a discussion beyond the limits of this publication. Therefore, guidelines and regulations in a representative sample of countries...

Recognition and Alleviation of Pain in Laboratory Animals, the second of two reports revising the 1992 publication Recognition and Alleviation of Pain and Distress in Laboratory Animals from the Institute for Laboratory Animal Research (ILAR)...

The regulation of the use of animals for experimental and other scientific purposes and the determination of minimum required standards of animal care and accommodation within Europe is generally informed by recommendations and conventions at...

In Japan, the Architectural Institute of Japan (AIJ) provides guidelines for laboratory animal facilities and equipment. Guidelines are not legally binding but serve as the authority for proper facilities and equipment management. The first guideline...

Fish have the same stress response and powers of nociception as mammals. Their behavioural responses to a variety of situations suggest a considerable ability for higher level neural processing – a level of consciousness equivalent...

The German law on animal protection might be more utilitarian than the American law. The legislators obviously tried to meet the needs of the animals. However, its poor definitions of main concepts such as pain...

On the basis of this paper's conclusions (White et al., 1989), the USDA decreased their cage size requirements and removed the increased space requirement for breeding guinea pigs. How well did the study determine the...

Stress associated with transportation has widespread effects on physiological systems in laboratory animals, including changes in the cardiovascular, endocrine, immune, central nervous, and reproductive systems. Although short-lived, these changes can confound research if animals are...

This article provides details to consider when preparing to use animals in biomedical research. The stress of transport and receipt of animals into a new environment mandate the need for a period of stabilization and...

In this article, laws and guidelines relating to rodent enrichment are reviewed, the natural behaviors of select rodent species are discussed, and an overview of widely used types of enrichment in laboratory rodent management is...

Expanding on the National Research Council’s Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, this book deals specifically with mammals in neuroscience and behavioral research laboratories. It offers flexible guidelines for the care of...

Many are critical of how regulatory testing practices have evolved and become established—critical both of the scientific rational and the animal welfare costs. The test of whether we are more enlightened than our predecessors will...

When attending veterinarians are not provided adequate job security by research institutions, there is no guarantee that they are reliable allies of nonhuman animals and implement the provisions set forth in the federal animal welfare...

If scientists are to have the privilege of being allowed to do painful experiments on animals, they must ensure that their experiments are beyond criticism.

Animals in the laboratory need the legally required "empty space" to meet their basic spatial requirements for postural adjustment, but they also deserve functional structured space for species-typical locomotor behavior and dynamic interaction with their...

General guidelines for the housing, handling and behavioral management of laboratory animals, including nonhuman primates. Proper care, use, and humane treatment of animals used in research, testing, and education .. require scientific and professional judgment...

Good husbandry minimizes variations that can modify an animal's response to experimentation [p. 11]] ...Lighting should be uniformly diffused throughout animal facilities to provide sufficient illumination to aid in maintaining good houskeeping practices, adequate inspection...