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. 
Spitzer, H. B., Meagher, R. K., Proudfoot, K. L. 2022. The impact of providing hiding spaces to farmed animals: A scoping review. PLOS ONE 17(11), e0277665.

Many wild animals perform hiding behaviours for a variety of reasons, such as evading predators or other conspecifics. Unlike their wild counterparts, farmed animals often live in relatively barren environments without the opportunity to hide...

dos Santos Gauy, A. C., Bolognesi, M. C., Gonçalves-de-Freitas, E. 2022. Long-term body tactile stimulation reduces aggression and improves productive performance in Nile tilapia groups. Scientific Reports 12(1), 20239.

One concern of the Anthropocene is the effects of human activities on animal welfare, revealing the urgency to mitigate impacts of rearing environments. Body tactile stimulation (TS), like massage therapy, has emerged as an enrichment...

Kleiber, A., Le-Calvez, J. M., Kerneis, T. et al. 2022. Positive effects of bubbles as a feeding predictor on behaviour of farmed rainbow trout. Scientific Reports 12(1), 11368.

Occupational enrichment emerges as a promising strategy for improving the welfare of farmed animals. This form of enrichment aims to stimulate cognitive abilities of animals by providing them with more opportunities to interact with and...

Butler, S. 2022. Gardening for Gorillas. Orla Kelly Publishing, Dublin, Ireland. 369 p.

During the author's 37 years as Curator of Horticulture, Dublin Zoo transformed from an almost Victorian appearance to a verdant green ark. A progressive masterplan focused on animal welfare and themed habitats reflects the spirit...

Parois, S. P., Van Der Zande, L. E., Knol, E. F. et al. 2022. A multi-suckling system combined with an enriched housing environment during the growing period promotes resilience to various challenges in pigs. Scientific Reports 12(1), 6804.

Little is known about the impact of social and environmental enrichment on improving livestock resilience, i.e. the ability to quickly recover from perturbations. We evaluated the effect of an alternative housing system (AHS) on resilience...

Archer, C., Garcia, A., Henderson, M. et al. 2022. Olfactory enrichment using a maternal pheromone improved post-weaning pig performance and behavior. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 9, 965370.

The post-weaning environment in commercial pig nursery buildings is typically devoid of both the sow and her semiochemicals. Among other factors, the loss of maternal odors may contribute to post-weaning stress. In this work, we...

Caselli, M., Messeri, P., Dessì-Fulgheri, F. et al. 2022. Enriching zoo-housed ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta): Assessing the influence of three types of environmental enrichment on behavior. Animals 12(20), 2836.

Environmental enrichment is a management tool used to promote positive animal welfare by stimulating species-specific behaviors and providing animals with opportunities to exert choice and control over the environment. Our study aimed to evaluate the...

Ojelade, O. C., Durosaro, S. O., Akinde, A. O. et al. 2022. Environmental enrichment improves the growth rate, behavioral and physiological response of juveniles of Clarias gariepinus under laboratory conditions. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 9, 980364.

Environmental enrichment (EE) improves the growth rate and welfare of some cultured fishes. However, most cultured fish species are raised in non-enriched housing conditions. Clarias gariepinus is an important commercial fish species, but little is...

Parois, S. P., Van Der Zande, L. E., Knol, E. F. et al. 2022. A multi-suckling system combined with an enriched housing environment during the growing period promotes resilience to various challenges in pigs. Scientific Reports 12(1), 6804.

Little is known about the impact of social and environmental enrichment on improving livestock resilience, i.e. the ability to quickly recover from perturbations. We evaluated the effect of an alternative housing system (AHS) on resilience...

Tsang, B., Gerlai, R. T. 2022. Common aquarium plants as an enrichment strategy in zebrafish

An increasing number of laboratories utilize zebrafish as this species is now represented in practically every subfield of biology research. Environmental enrichment has been shown to improve welfare and health of a large number of...

Weir, R. 2022. The effects of various enrichment methods on the engagement nd inter-group behaviour of captive chacma baboons. Canopy 23(1), 4–6.

The goal of this study was to answer two research questions: (1) how important is it to rotate enrichment types to maintain high levels of engagement in individually-housed adult chacma baboons? and (2) which methods...

Lee, W.-Y., Lan, K.-W., Chang, H.-H. et al. 2022. Residency and swimming behavior of Acanthopagrus schlegelii, Trachinotus blochii, and Acanthopagrus latus in relation to artificial reef models in a captivity experiment. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 257, 105778.

Global capture fisheries production has declined rapidly over the past decades because of the growing demand for fisheries resources. To restore fisheries resources, artificial reefs (ARs) are deployed on the seafloor to provide new habitats...

Anderson, M. G., Campbell, A. M., Kuhn, D. D. et al. 2022. Impact of environmental complexity and stocking density on affective states of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Animal Cognition 25(5), 1331–1343.

Environmental condition, such as environmental complexity or stocking density, can directly or indirectly influence animal emotion and ultimately, affective state. Affective states of animals can be assessed through judgement bias tests, evaluating responses to ambiguous...

Thomas, M., Reynaud, J.-G., Ledoré, Y. et al. 2022. Enrichment in a fish polyculture: Does it affect fish behaviour and development of only one species or both? Applied Sciences 12(7), 3674.

Physical enrichment of structures has been used for the last decades in aquaculture to improve fish production and welfare. Until now, this enrichment has been practiced in fish monoculture but not in fish polyculture. In...

Wallgren, T., Gunnarsson, S. 2021. Effect of straw provision in racks on tail lesions, straw availability, and pen hygiene in finishing pigs. Animals 11(2), 379.

Unfulfilled exploratory behavior in pigs has been linked to tail biting, which causes reduced performance and welfare. Provision of straw can reduce tail biting, but large straw rations can cause poor hygiene in pens. This...

Pol, F., Huneau-Salaün, A., Gallien, S. et al. 2021. Compressed brown algae as a potential environmental enrichment material in growing pigs. Animals 11(2), 315.

In barren housing conditions, enrichment materials are given to pigs to improve their welfare. Here, we assessed the suitability of an algae-based cylinder as an enrichment material on the behavioral, physiological, health and productivity welfare...

Marques Maia, C., Pacheco Capelini Alves, N., Tatemoto, P. 2021. Juvenile Nile tilapia fish avoid red shelters. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 24(1), 98-106.

Shelters are frequently used for fish rearing to improve welfare conditions. In this study, whether Nile tilapia prefers specific shelter colors was evaluated. Thus, fish preference for white, red, blue, green or yellow shelters was...

Lambert, K. 2021. DIY: Ice cream cone spiced foraging cups. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 9(1) (January/February), 36.

This DIY snack is great for NHPs and can be customized in a variety of ways.

Lambert, K. 2021. DIY: Ice produce blocks. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 9(2) (March/April), 41.

This great cool-down snack is ideal for group or singly housed swine or nonhuman primates (particularly in larger pen-style housing). This item can be customized for canines as well by modifying the liquid used and/or...

Williams, W. R. 2021. Edible nail polish as a novel enrichment strategy for single-housed nonhuman primates. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 9(2) (March/April), 50-51.

At the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, NHPs may need to be singly housed for research purposes or veterinary care, and it can be challenging to keep them optimally enriched. This sometimes results in...

Marchetto, L., Barcellos, L. J. G., Koakoski, G. et al. 2021. Auditory environmental enrichment prevents anxiety-like behavior, but not cortisol responses, evoked by 24-h social isolation in zebrafish. Behavioural Brain Research 404, 113169.

The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is widely used as a promising translational model organism for studying various brain disorders. Zebrafish are also commonly used in behavioral and drug screening assays utilizing individually tested (socially isolated) fish...

Swan, K.-M., Telkänranta, H., Munsterhjelm, C. et al. 2021. Access to chewable materials during lactation affects sow behaviour and interaction with piglets. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 234, 105174.

We investigated how providing chewable materials to piglets during the early weeks of life affect sow behaviour, sow and piglet interaction and sow health in pens with farrowing crates. We divided 59 pregnant sows into...

Aparecida Martins, R., Ribeiro Caldara, F., Crone, C. et al. 2021. Strategic use of straw as environmental enrichment for prepartum sows in farrowing crates. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 234, 105194.

Sows are highly motivated to build a nest prior to farrowing, but, given the barren environment of farrowing crates, this behaviour is limited and improperly expressed. We aimed to assess the effects of a straw...

Kauselmann, K., Krause, E. T., Glitz, B. et al. 2021. Effect of plant-based enrichment materials on exploration in rearing and fattening pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 236, 105261.

When pigs cannot perform innate species-specific behaviours (e.g. rooting or chewing), behavioural disorders, like tail biting, can occur. However, it seems that various enrichment materials enhance the pigs to perform exploration behaviour and therefore can...

Tatemotoa, P., Valença-Silva, G., Queiroz, M. R. et al. 2021. Living with low environmental complexity increases fear indicators in Nile tilapia. Animal Behaviour 174, 169-174.

Animals are often kept in conditions with low environmental complexity and for long periods in barren artificial environments. This has been shown to lead to poor welfare in many species of animals. We assessed the...