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. 
Hoglund, E., Calabrese, S., Jonassen, T. M. et al. 2024. Does sedation with AQUI-S mitigate transport stress and post transport mortality in ballan wrasse (Labrus bergyltae)? Frontiers in Veterinary Science 11.

Ballan wrasse (Labrus bergylta) are commonly used as cleaner fish in salmon farms as a biological treatment to mitigate sea lice infestation. Improved welfare for cleaner fish both during production of these fish and when...

Robinson, L. M., Weiss, A. (Eds.) 2023. Nonhuman Primate Welfare: From History, Science, and Ethics to Practice. Springer, Cham, Switzerland. 671 p.

This volume reviews the broad topic of welfare in nonhuman primates under human care. Chapters detail the history of primates in captivity, ethical and legal issues surrounding the use of nonhuman primates as entertainment or...

Eeza, M. N. H., Singer, R., Ding, Y. et al. 2023. Probing microstructural changes in muscles of leptin-deficient zebrafish by non-invasive ex-vivo magnetic resonance microimaging. PLOS ONE 18(4), e0284215.

Leptin is a hormone that plays a key role in controlling food intake and energy homeostasis. Skeletal muscle is an important target for leptin and recent studies have shown that leptin deficiency may lead to...

Rucinque, D. S., van de Vis, H., Reimert, H. et al. 2023. Pre-slaughter stunning of farmed Atlantic halibut in CO2-saturated seawater: Assessment of unconsciousness by electroencephalography (EEG). Animals 13(12), 1993.

As fish welfare becomes a growing concern, it is important to ensure humane treatment during slaughter. This study aimed to assess the onset of unconsciousness in Atlantic halibut immersed in CO2-saturated seawater through electroencephalography (EEG)...

Jones, M, Alexander, M. E., Lightbody, S. et al. 2023. Influence of social enrichment on transport stress in fish: A behavioural approach. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 262, 105920.

Ornamental fishes are among the most commonly owned companion animals in the world, however, the transportation process during acquisition can result in fishes being exposed to biotic and abiotic conditions which compromise welfare. While many...

Bortoletti, M., Fonsatti, E., Leva, F. et al. 2023. Influence of transportation on stress response and cellular oxidative stress markers in juvenile meagre (Argyrosomus regius). Animals 13(20), 3288.

In aquaculture, the transportation of live fish is a crucial but stress-inducing practice, necessitating a thorough understanding of its impact on fish welfare. This study aimed to assess the physiological stress response of meagre (Argyrosomus...

Brando, S., Norman, M. 2023. Handling and training of wild animals: Evidence and ethics-based approaches and best practices in the modern zoo. Animals 13(14), 2247.

There is an ethical responsibility to provide all animals living in human care with optimal and positive well-being. As animals living in zoos and aquariums frequently interact with their human caregivers as part of their...

Clemente, G. A., Tolini, C., Boscarino, A. et al. 2023. Farmed fish welfare during slaughter in Italy: Survey on stunning and killing methods and indicators of unconsciousness. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 10.

Information on slaughter procedures for farmed fish in aquaculture is limited, both in Europe and in Italy, due to a general lack of field data. The aim of this study was to gather information on...

Gui, F., Sun, H., Qu, X. et al. 2023. Temperature and dissolved oxygen lead to behavior and respiration changes in juvenile largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) during transport. Fishes 8(12), 565.

The study aimed to investigate the effects of temperature and dissolved oxygen on juvenile largemouth bass during transportation. The experiment involved four temperature groups: 20, 15, 10, and 5 °C. We analyzed the effects of...

Heniff, A. C., Gorges, M. A., Lewbart, G. A. et al. 2023. Evaluation of targeted injections of ivermectin or potassium chloride for euthanasia of anesthetized thorny devil stick insects (Eurycantha calcarata). Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens 4(1), 231–239.

Insects are commonly utilized in biomedical research and have become increasingly popular in museum collections and as pets. Despite this, objective evaluation of insect euthanasia is scarce. This study investigated the effectiveness of targeted injections...

Pretorius, Y., Eggeling, T., Ganswindt, A. 2023. Identifying potential measures of stress and disturbance during a captive to wild African elephant reintegration. PLOS ONE 18(10), e0291293.

There is increasing evidence of compromised welfare for elephants managed in captivity. Should such facilities eventually close, more elephants will need to be rehabilitated and reintegrated into the wild. The goal of such reintegration would...

Štrbenc, M., Kuhar, U., Lainšček, D. et al. 2023. Rehoming and other refinements and replacement in procedures using golden hamsters in SARS-CoV-2 vaccine research. Animals 13(16), 2616.

Effective vaccines are needed to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Forty golden hamsters were inoculated with two promising vaccine candidates and eighteen animals were used in pilot trials with viral challenge. ELISA assays were performed to...

Perret-Thiry, C., Raulic, J., Vergneau-Grosset, C. 2022. Evaluation of prolonged immersion in tricaine methanesulfonate for juvenile goldfish (Carassius auratus) euthanasia. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 260(8), 911-915.

OBJECTIVE: Doses of buffered tricaine methanesulfonate (MS-222) up to 1000 mg/L for 15 minutes are reported inefficient to produce euthanasia in goldfish. The goal of this study was to determine if goldfish can be euthanized...

Fehrenbach, L. A., Adekanye, A. A., Palillo, M. B. et al. 2022. Internal temperatures of packaging for overnight cross-country shipping of zebrafish (Danio rerio). Comparative Medicine 72(3), 195-203.

As the use of zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a research model continues to rise, so too will the shipping and sharing of zebrafish strains across collaborating institutions. If done incorrectly, shipping can result in significant...

Davis, A. K., Garner, J. P., Chu, D. K. et al. 2022. Propofol immersion as a euthanasia method for adult zebrafish (Danio rerio). Comparative Medicine 72(3), 204-209.

The exponential rise of the zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a model organism in biomedical research has far outstripped our un- derstanding of basic husbandry and welfare for this species. As a case in point, here...

Neil, D. M., Albalat, A., Thompson, J. 2022. The effects of electrical stunning on the nervous activity and physiological stress response of a commercially important decapod crustacean, the brown crab Cancer pagurus L. PLOS ONE 17(7), e0270960.

Increasing attention is being paid to the welfare of decapod crustaceans. Legislation exists for their humane slaughter in several countries and this is being debated in others. Electrical stunning may have potential for humane slaughter...

Ferreira, J. M., Félix, L., Jorge, S. et al. 2022. Anesthesia overdose versus rapid cooling for euthanasia of adult zebrafish. Zebrafish 19(4), 148-159.

The rapid increase in zebrafish use needs to be accompanied by research into the refinement of procedures. The European (EU) Directive lists three possible euthanasia methods for fish: anesthetic overdose, electrical stunning, and concussion. However...

Mason, G. J., Lavery, J. M. 2022. What is it like to be a bass? Red herrings, fish pain and the study of animal sentience. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 9, 788289.

Debates around fishes’ ability to feel pain concern sentience: do reactions to tissue damage indicate evaluative consciousness (conscious affect), or mere nociception? Thanks to Braithwaite’s research leadership, and concerns that current practices could compromise welfare...

Wahltinez, S. J., Stacy, N. I., Hadfield, C. A. et al. 2022. Perspective: Opportunities for advancing aquatic invertebrate welfare. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 9, 973376.

Welfare considerations and regulations for invertebrates have lagged behind those for vertebrates, despite invertebrates comprising more than 95% of earth’s species. Humans interact with and use aquatic invertebrates for exhibition in zoos and aquaria, as...

Hepps Keeney, C., Harrison, T. M. 2022. Euthanasia complications in non-domestic species. Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens 3(4), 616–623.

There are very few studies describing euthanasia complications in non-domestic species. The goal of this study was to survey veterinarians to determine what complications may commonly occur during the euthanasia of non-domestic species. An online...

Ramos, J., Balasch, J. C., Tort, L. 2021. About welfare and stress in the early stages of fish. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 8, 634434.

In conclusion, the investigations carried out up to now demonstrate that during the early stages fish show high sensitivity to many types of stressors involving an array of responses to overcome alterations that could affect...

Sørensen, D., Cloutier, S., Gaskill, B. (Eds.). 2021. Animal-centric Care and Management - Enhancing Refinement in Biomedical Research. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.

The concept of the 3Rs (Refinement, Reduction and Replacement) has been used as a framework for improving the welfare of laboratory animals for the last half century. By establishing an animal-centric view on housing and...

Conte, F., Voslarova, E., Vecerek, V. et al. 2021. Humane slaughter of edible decapod crustaceans. Animals 11(4), 1089.

Vast numbers of crustaceans are produced by aquaculture and caught in fisheries to meet the increasing demand for seafood and freshwater crustaceans. Simultaneously, the public is increasingly concerned about current methods employed in their handling...

Wahltinez, S. J., Kroll, K. J., Nunamaker, E. A. et al. 2021. Practical euthanasia method for common sea stars (Asterias rubens) that allows for high-quality RNA sampling. Animals 11(7), 1847.

Sea stars in research are often lethally sampled without available methodology to render them insensible prior to sampling due to concerns over sufficient sample quality for applied molecular techniques. The objectives of this study were...

Archibald, W., Glynn, C. 2021. Refining cages for social housing of non-human primates on ADME studies. Animal Technology and Welfare 20(2), 172-174.

The assessment and understanding of Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism and Elimination (ADME) for new pharmaceuticals is required in regulatory submissions. Typically, ADME studies are conducted using metabolism cages designed for the single housing of animals to...