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. 
Roth, T. S., Bionda, T. R., Sterck, E. H. M. 2017. Recapturing the canopy: Stimulating Bornean orang-utan (Pongo pygmaeus) natural locomotion behaviour in a zoo environment. Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research 5(1), 16-24.

Orang-utans are the largest mainly arboreal animal: wild orang-utans rarely come to the forest floor. In contrast, the locomotion behaviour of captive orang-utans encompasses more time on the ground and they spend less time on...

Jolles, J. W., Aaron-Taylor, B., Manica, A. 2016. Recent social conditions affect boldness repeatability in individual sticklebacks. Animal Behaviour 112, 139-145.

Animal personalities are ubiquitous across the animal kingdom and have been shown both to influence individual behaviour in the social context and to be affected by it. However, little attention has been paid to possible...

Byrd, C. P., Winnicker, C., Gaskill, B. N. 2016. Instituting dark-colored cover to improve central space use within guinea pig enclosure. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 19(4), 408-413.

Domestic guinea pigs (Cavia aperea f. porcellus) in laboratories have been shown to actively avoid the centers of their cages. This experiment tested a novel, dark-colored “shader” placed over the central portion of a cage...

O'Keefe, S. 2016. Non-human primate housing facility at Newcastle University. Animal Technology and Welfare 15(2), 131-132.

Monkeys first arrived in the Comparative Biology Centre (CBC) at Newcastle University in 2000. They were housed in three small separate units consisting of steel and wooden cages. In 2011 a decision was made to...

Shepley, E., Bergeron, R., Bécotte, F. et al. 2016. Dairy cow preference for outdoor access during winter under Eastern Canada climatic conditions. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 97(1), 1-5.

Cows on two separate farms were submitted to a 6 d preference test, repeated four times, consisting of three 2 d phases (3 h d−1 phase−1): forced-indoor, forced-outdoor, and free-choice. A majority of cows on...

Tonkins, B. M., Tyers, A. M., Cook G. M. 2015. Cuttlefish in captivity: An investigation into housing and husbandry for improving welfare. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 168, 77-83.

The European cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) is often kept in public aquaria, is becoming more common in aquaculture, and is also the most frequently used cephalopod in European research. Since 1st January 2013, all cephalopods (Mollusca)...

Pritchett-Corning, K. R., Gaskill, B. N. 2015. Lack of negative effects on Syrian hamsters and Mongolian gerbils housed in the same secondary enclosure. JAALAS 54(3), 261-266.

In cases where different species might be housed in the same room or secondary enclosure, the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals recommends that the animals should be behaviorally compatible and have...

Giral, M., Amengol, C., Sanchez-Gomez, S. et al. 2015. Effects of changing to individually ventilated caging on guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus). JAALAS 54(3), 267-272.

The goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of changing to IVC housing on guinea pigs by recording several physiologic parameters in guinea pigs housed sequentially in open-top cages (OTC) and IVC. To...

Bakker, J., Ouwerling, B., Hedit, P. J. et al. 2015. Advantages and risks of housing changes to improve animal wellbeing in a breeding colony of common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). JAALAS 54(3), 273-279.

Between 1975 and 2014, housing conditions for laboratory-housed marmosets changed dramatically after the introduction of new guidelines designed to improve their care and wellbeing. According to these guidelines, our facility provided marmosets with outside enclosures...

Nordmann, E., Barth, K., Futschik, A. et al. 2015. Head partitions at the feed barrier affect behaviour of goats. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 167, 9-19.

Space allowance at the feeding places often forces goats to feed in close proximity, that is, less than their individual distances. In consequence, agonistic behaviour may increase as well as stress and injuries, while access...

Bayne, K. A., Beaver, B. V., Mench, J. A. et al. 2015. Laboratory animal behavior. In: Laboratory Animal Medicine, 3rd edition. Fox, J. G., Anderson, L., Otto, G., et al. (eds). Elsevier, Inc., Amsterdam, NL. pp. 1617-1651.

The study of laboratory animal behavior has increased steadily over the last decade, with expanding emphasis on a variety of commonly used species. In the United States, this trend was initially focused on species for...

Reinhardt, V. (ed.) 2013. Compassion Makes a Difference - Discussions by the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum [LAREF], Volume III. Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, DC.

This is the third volume of discussions that took place on the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum (LAREF). This forum is dedicated to the exchange of personal experiences of refining the conditions under which...

Savage, S. 2013. Kidding around in the laboratory animal facility - Goat enrichment. Enrichment Record 14, 14-15.

Goat enrichment can be incredibly rewarding, not only for the goat, but for personnel as well. In our facility, we often refer to goatenrichment tasks as technician (or vet!) enrichment. Somewhere in the evolutionary development...

Hrapkiewicz, K., Colby, L. A., Denison, P. 2013. Clinical Laboratory Animal Medicine: An Introduction (4th Ed). Wiley-Blackwell, Ames, IA.

Clinical Laboratory Animal Medicine: An Introduction, Fourth Edition offers a user-friendly guide to the unique anatomy and physiology, care, common diseases, and treatment of small mammals and nonhuman primates. Carefully designed for ease of use...

Baumans, V., Bennett, K., Donnelly, M. et al. 2013. The problem with the dark bottom-row cage for non-human primates: A discussion by the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum. Animal Technology and Welfare 12, 111-114.

Since there is evidence that the bottom cages can impact research, this should be a good reason to eliminate the two-tier system with its species-inappropriate bottom-tier cages.

Walters, S. L., Torres-Urbano, C. J., Chichester, L. et al. 2012. The impact of huts on physiological stress: A refinement in post-transport housing of male guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus). Laboratory Animals 46(3), 220-224.

The ideal animal model would contribute no confounding variables in experimental science. Variables affect experimental design resulting in increased animal use or repeated studies. We demonstrated a simple refinement which may reduce the number of...

Coleman, K. 2012. Individual differences in temperament and behavioral management practices for nonhuman primates. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 137(3-4), 106-113.

This review will examine how individual differences in temperament might affect, or be affected by, behavioral management practices for captive primates. Measuring temperament may help us predict the outcome of social introductions. It can also...

Buchanan-Smith, H. M., Badihi, I. 2012. The psychology of control: Effects of control over supplementary light on welfare of marmosets. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 137(3), 166–174.

It is often argued that increasing the amount of control that animals have over various aspects of their environment has a positive effect on their welfare, despite limited empirical evidence. We gave 12 pairs of...

Oldfield, R. G. 2011. Aggression and welfare in a common aquarium fish, the Midas cichlid. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 14(4), 340-360.

Many species of fishes are aggressive when placed in small aquaria. Aggression can negatively affect the welfare of those individuals toward whom it is directed. Animals may behave aggressively in order to defend resources such...

Ekesbo, I. 2011. Sheep. In: Farm Animal Behavior: Characteristics for Assessment of Health and Welfare, 1st edition. Fraser, A. F. , Broom, D. M. (ed). CABI, Oxfordshire, UK. pp. 82-92.

Each chapter follows a consistent pattern describing the behavioral characteristics of the species featured. Reference is made to the natural state before domestication, leading us through the various changes to the present, demonstrating along the...

Kistler, C., Hegglin, D., Würbel, H. et al. 2011. Preference for structured environment in zebrafish (Danio rerio) and checker bards (Puntius oligolepis). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 135(4), 318-327.

Information about the welfare and husbandry of pet and laboratory fish is scarce although millions of fish are sold in pet shops and used in laboratory research every year. Inadequate housing conditions can cause behavioural...

Waitt, C. D., Bushmitz, M., Honess, P. E. 2010. Designing environments for aged primates. Laboratory Primate Newsletter, 49(3), 5-9.

In order to prevent physical and psychological deterioration in older animals, it is important to apply the same principles of environmental enrichment and housing as are applied to younger animals. As we have discussed above...

Koban, T. L., Leto, S., Kusznir, T. et al. 2010. A European Union-compliant housing environment for nonhuman primates in a toxicology laboratory. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 718-719 (Abstract #P118).

As a global company, our institution made the decision to install European Union (EU) Appendix A-compliant nonhuman primate cages at one of its facilities. This investment represented a substantial evolution of standards commonly employed within...

Egeler, J. L., Hoekwater, S., Hoffman, H. D. 2010. A novel approach for utilizing large group-housing style cages for nonhuman primates in toxicology studies. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 716 (Abstract #P110).

The ability to provide permanent group-housed caging for nonhuman primates involved in toxicology research is quickly becoming an important step in improving the overall quality of life for these animals. This type of caging offers...

Ehlenbruch, R., Jørgensen, G. H. M., Andersen, I. L., et al. 2010. Provision of additional walls in the resting area - The effects on resting behaviour and social interactions in goats. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 122(1), 35-40.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of providing extra walls, in addition to the already existing pen walls, in the resting area on resting behaviour and social interactions in goats. Twenty-four...