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. 
Steagall, P. V., Bustamante, H., Johnson, C. B. et al. 2021. Pain management in farm animals: Focus on cattle, sheep and pigs. Animals 11(6), 1483.

Pain causes behavioral, autonomic, and neuroendocrine changes and is a common cause of animal welfare compromise in farm animals. Current societal and ethical concerns demand better agricultural practices and improved welfare for food animals. These...

Leonard, S. M., Xin, H., Brown-Brandl, T. M. et al. 2021. Effects of farrowing stall layout and number of heat lamps on sow and piglet behavior. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 239, 105334.

Farrowing stalls are used in the United States swine industry to reduce pre-weaning piglet mortality, enable efficient individual animal management, and decrease facility construction and operating costs. The quantity and quality of space provided for...

Tokareva, M., Brown, J. A., Woodward, A. et al. 2021. Movement or more food? A comparison of motivation for exercise and food in stall-housed sows and gilts. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 240, 105348.

Despite being phased out in the EU, several states in the USA and other select countries such as Australia, gestation stalls remains a common sow housing system worldwide. In Canada, the 2014 Code of Practice...

FELASA Working Group on Farm Animals: Berset, C. M., Caristo, M. E., Ferrara, F. et al. 2021. Federation of European Laboratory Animal Science Associations recommendations of best practices for the health management of ruminants and pigs used for scientific and educational purposes. Laboratory Animals 55(2), 117-128.

Most ruminants and pigs used for scientific and educational aims are bred not for these purposes but in a farm environment. Given the wide range of diseases that these species might have, ensuring that the...

Jewell, D., Muensch, A., Kupronis, R. et al. 2021. Husbandry techniques for a research colony of veiled chameleons (Chamaeleo calyptratus). Laboratory Animal Science Professional 9(4) (July/August), 52-55.

Although most chameleon species can be challenging captives, C. calyptratus have been successfully kept and bred in captivity for over thirty years. Despite their relative familiarity, our challenge is to replicate their preferred habitats in...

Peden, R. S. E., Turner, S. P., Camerlink, I. et al. 2021. An estimation of the financial consequences of reducing pig aggression. PLOS ONE 16(5), e0250556.

Animal welfare scientists have accumulated knowledge and developed interventions to improve livestock welfare, but these are poorly adopted in commercial practice. Animal welfare interventions are rarely tested for economic viability and this limits their uptake...

Schmidt, T., Ferrara, F., Pobloth, A.-M. et al. 2021. Large farm animals used for research purposes: A survey on purchase, housing and hygiene management. Animals 11(8), 2158.

Background: Farm animals (FAs) are frequently used in biomedical research. Recommendations for the purchase, housing and health monitoring of these animals (sheep, goats, cattle and pigs) are still missing, and many institutes have developed their...

Vitali, M., Santolini, E., Bovo, M. et al. 2021. Behavior and welfare of undocked heavy pigs raised in buildings with different ventilation systems. Animals 11(8), 2338.

The present study aimed to evaluate animal welfare of pigs from the same farm, raised with two ventilation systems. The study involved 60 pens of fattening pigs, raised in two buildings: one naturally ventilated (NV)...

Onozawa, E., Azakami, D., Seki, S. et al. 2021. Effect of an insulation device in preventing hypothermia during magnetic resonance imaging examinations for dogs and cats under general anesthesia. Animals 11(8), 2378.

Dogs and cats under general anesthesia may develop hypothermia. When performing a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination, it is not possible to place a magnetic material in the MRI room, and MRI equipment requires a...

Tucker, B. S., Craig, J. R., Morrison, R. S. et al. 2021. Piglet viability: A review of identification and pre-weaning management strategies. Animals 11(10), 2902.

Increased attention on the effects of the global push for a larger litter size has focused on the increased occurrence of piglets with decreased viability, which have lighter birthweights and a reduced ability to thrive...

Ferrari, P., Ulrici, A., Barbari, M. 2021. Analysis of housing risk factors for the welfare of lean and heavy pigs in a sample of European fattening farms. Animals 11(11), 3221.

Pig welfare is affected by housing conditions, the minimum requirements of which are set up by EU legislation. Animal and non-animal-based measures are useful indicators to investigate housing risk factors for pig welfare. An observational...

Huneau-Salaün, A., Bougeard, S., Balaine, L. et al. 2021. Do rubber floor mats prevent lameness in gestating sows housed in large groups? A field experiment on three commercial farms in France. Animals 11(11), 3160.

Lameness and foot disorders are major health and welfare issues in intensive swine production systems. They are exacerbated when sows are housed in large groups on slatted concrete floors during gestation. Our study aimed to...

Prior, H., Blunt, H., Crossman, L. et al. 2021. Refining procedures within regulatory toxicology studies: Improving animal welfare and data. Animals 11(11), 3057.

During the development of potential new medicines or agrochemicals, an assessment of the safety profile to humans and environmental species is conducted using a range of different in silico and in vitro techniques in conjunction...

Dalmau, A., Sánchez-Matamoros, A., Molina, J. M. et al. 2021. Intramuscular vs. intradermic needle-free vaccination in piglets: Relevance for animal welfare based on an aversion learning test and vocalizations. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 8, 715260.

The aim of the present study was to compare intramuscular injection with a needle and intradermic needle-free vaccinations against porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) in piglets at 28 days old by studying behavioral and...

Kinaci, A., Vaessen, K., Redegeld, S. et al. 2021. Minimizing complications in a porcine survival craniotomy model. Laboratory Animals 55(5), 435-442.

A large craniotomy survival porcine model is useful for scientific research. The surgical approaches and complications of craniotomies in pigs have not been published before. This study describes how large craniotomies were performed in 46...

Misra, S., Bokkers, E., Upton, J. et al. 2021. Effect of environmental enrichment and group size on the water use and waste in grower-finisher pigs. Scientific Reports 11(1), 16380.

The grower-finisher stage accounts for 64% of the total on-farm herd water use. Part of this is consumed by the pigs, but a part is also wasted. Drinking water usage and wastage is affected by...

Edwards, S. (Ed.) 2021. Understanding the behaviour and improving the welfare of pigs. Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing Limited, Sawston, Cambridge, UK. 594 p.

With growing concern from consumers and regulatory agencies about the welfare of farmed animals such as pigs, the livestock sector must assess how animal welfare can be improved whilst ensuring livestock production remains economically and...

Costantino, A., Fabrizio, E., Calvet, S. 2021. The role of climate control in monogastric animal farming: The effects on animal welfare, air emissions, productivity, health, and energy use. Applied Sciences 11(20), 9549.

In the last decades, an engineering process has deeply transformed livestock houses by introducing fine-tuned climate control systems to guarantee adequate indoor climate conditions needed to express the maximum genetic potential of animals and to...

Mun, H.-S., Dilawar, M. A., Rathnayake, D. et al. 2021. Effect of a geothermal heat pump in cooling mode on the housing environment and swine productivity traits. Applied Sciences 11(22), 10778.

This study compared the effects of the cooling mode of a geothermal heat pump (GHP) system with those of a traditional cooling system (ventilation fans) inside a pig house on the internal house temperature, harmful...

Read, E., Baxter, E. M., Farish, M. et al. 2020. Trough half empty: Pregnant sows are fed under half of their ad libitum intake. Animal Welfare 29(2), 151-162.

Pregnant (dry) sows (S) are fed a rationed amount of feed to maintain healthy weight and production but this does not satisfy their hunger. This study measured the extent of feed restriction compared to sows'...

Wang, C., Han, Q., Liu, R. et al. 2020. Equipping farrowing pens with straw improves maternal behavior and physiology of Min-Pig hybrid sows. Animals 10(1), 105.

This study investigated the effects of two factors, enriched environment (EE) and different crossbreeds, on the maternal behavior and physiology of Min-pig hybrid sows. The analysis was performed on a total of 72 multiparous sows...

Leonard, S., Xin, H., Brown-Brandl, T. et al. 2020. Effects of farrowing stall layout and number of heat lamps on sow and piglet production performance. Animals 10(2), 348.

Most farrowing facilities in the United States use stalls and heat lamps to improve sow and piglet productivity. This study investigated these factors by comparing production outcomes for three different farrowing stall layouts (traditional, expanded...

Burkemper, M. C., Pairis-Garcia, M. D., Moraes, L. E. et al. 2020. Effects of oral meloxicam and topical lidocaine on pain associated behaviors of piglets undergoing surgical castration. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 23(2), 209-218.

The objective of this study was to find a practical means of reducing pain associated with surgical castration by evaluating the effects of oral meloxicam and topical lidocaine, separately and in combination, on behavioral indicators...

Lane, S. E., Sellers, A. S., Shepard, N. D. et al. 2020. Putting our best foot forward: Care and conditioning for swine hooves. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 8(1) (January/February), 40-42.

Maintaining the hooves of swine in research is vital to their health and welfare. Ideal flooring provides stable footing and a surface for wearing down the hooves. Otherwise, injuries can occur, or repeated anesthesia may...

Zemanova, M. A. 2020. Towards more compassionate wildlife research through the 3Rs principles: Moving from invasive to noninvasive methods. Wildlife Biology 2020(1), no page numbers.

Research in ecology and wildlife biology remains crucial for increasing our knowledge and improving species management and conservation in the midst of the current biodiversity crisis. However, obtaining information on population status often involves invasive...