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. 
Pasmans, F., Bogaerts, S., Braeckman, J. et al. 2017. Future of keeping pet reptiles and amphibians: Towards integrating animal welfare, human health and environmental sustainability. Veterinary Record 181(17), 450.

The keeping of exotic pets is currently under debate and governments of several countries are increasingly exploring the regulation, or even the banning, of exotic pet keeping. Major concerns are issues of public health and...

Vermeer, H., Dirx-Kuijken, N., Bracke, M. 2017. Exploration feeding and higher space allocation improve welfare of growing-finishing pigs. Animals 7(5), 36.

Lack of environmental enrichment and high stocking densities in growing-finishing pigs can lead to adverse social behaviors directed to pen mates, resulting in skin lesions, lameness, and tail biting. The objective of the study was...

Nordquist, R., van der Staay, F., van Eerdenburg, F. et al. 2017. Mutilating procedures, management practices, and housing conditions that may affect the welfare of farm animals: Implications for welfare research. Animals 7(2), 12.

A number of mutilating procedures, such as dehorning in cattle and goats and beak trimming in laying hens, are common in farm animal husbandry systems in an attempt to prevent or solve problems, such as...

Carlson, A., Allen, C., Skoumbourdis, E. et al. 2017. Cooked food for non-human primates: A discussion by the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum. Animal Technology and Welfare 16(2), 124-126.

"Do any of you give cooked food like pasta, potatoes or vegetables to non-human primates? What’s your experience? Do the animals benefit from cooked food; do they like it; does it affect their health in...

Casal-Plana, N., Manteca, X., Dalmau, A. et al. 2017. Influence of enrichment material and herbal compounds in the behaviour and performance of growing pigs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 195, 38-43.

Pigs reared in barren conditions are exposed to many different stressors, compromising their welfare and producing physiological and behavioural changes. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of environmental enrichment (EE) consisting...

de Ruyter, E. M., van Wetter, W. H. E. J., Lines, D. S. et al. 2017. Gradually reducing sow contact in lactation is beneficial for piglet welfare around weaning. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 193, 43-50.

This study tested whether a gradual reduction in sow contact during lactation, achieved through housing the sow in a ‘sow only’ area, would influence piglet stress responses to weaning. Gradual reduction in sow contact was...

Turner, S. P., Nevison, I. M., Desire, S. et al. 2017. Aggressive behaviour at regrouping is a poor predictor of chronic aggression in stable social groups. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 191, 98-106.

Commercial pigs globally are routinely mixed into new social groups. This results in regrouping aggression predominantly during the first 24h which compromises welfare and productivity. Chronic aggression persists thereafter and is also undesirable. Management strategies...

Greenwood, E. C., Plush, K. J., van Wettere, W.H.E.J. et al. 2017. A novel method for the analysis of social structure allows in-depth analysis of sow rank in newly grouped sows. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 189, 29-35.

Chronic stress response in fearful animals can result in depression of growth and reproductive performance. It is therefore important to be aware of at risk animals in the herd. Thus far ‘hierarchy’ calculations have involved...

Williams, I., Hoppitt, W., Grant, R. 2017. The effect of auditory enrichment, rearing method and social environment on the behavior of zoo-housed psittacines (Aves: Psittaciformes); implications for welfare. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 186, 85-92.

The psychological and physiological effects of different genres of music are well documented in humans. These concepts have also been studied in kenneled dogs and some exotic animals, implying that animals may experience benefits similar...

McBride, S. D., Parker, M. O., Roberts, K. et al. 2017. Applied neurophysiology of the horse; implications for training, husbandry and welfare. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 190, 90-101.

Understanding the neural circuits underlying equine behaviour has the potential to help optimise strategies of husbandry and training. This review discusses two areas of neurophysiological research in a range of species and relates this information...

Gülden, A., Büscher, W. 2017. The effect of a compressed air stimulus on blocking times in a concentrate feeding station for horses in group housing. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 191, 39-48.

Concentrate feeding stations are used to meet the different feeding requirements of group-housed horses. In practice, blocking times caused by horses remaining in the feeding station without concentrate allowance constrain the feeding process considerably. To...

Martinez de Andino, E. V., McDonnell, S. M. 2017. Evaluation of operant learning in young foals using target training. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 193, 67-72.

The primary purpose of this study was to characterize operant learning performance of young foals. For each of 26 foals, aged 6–20 weeks, learning performance was quantitatively evaluated in a single brief training trial using...

Górecka-Bruzda, A., Jaworski, Z., Suwała, M. et al. 2017. Aversiveness of husbandry procedures for pre-weaned foals: A comparison using behavioural and physiological indices. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 191, 31-38.

Husbandry procedures are necessary for different purposes in horse breeding. The aim of the present study was to assess the aversiveness and effects on the horse-human relationship of a range of common husbandry procedures, in...

Greenwell, P. J., Montrose, V. T. 2017. The gray matter: Prevention and reduction of abnormal behavior in companion gray parrots (Psittacus erithacus). Journal of Veterinary Behavior 20, 44-51.

Gray parrots (Psittacus erithacus) are popular companion birds, particularly noted for their ability to mimic human speech, their intelligence, and longevity. They are also prone to developing abnormal behaviors such as feather damaging behavior. This...

Roberts, K., Hemmings, A. J., McBride, S. D. et al. 2017. Causal factors of oral versus locomotor stereotypy in the horse. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 20, 37-43.

Stereotypic behaviors are commonly observed in domestic equids as they are in a range of captive nondomesticated species. Estimates suggest that 19.5%-32.5% of horses perform a stereotypy. The presence of these behaviors is thought to...

Rose, P. E., Nash, S. M., Riley, L. M. 2017. To pace or not to pace? A review of what abnormal repetitive behavior tells us about zoo animal management. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 20, 11-21.

Performance of abnormal repetitive behavior (ARB) is noted in many captive wild species. ARB can be categorized into 2 basic forms: those whose aim appears to be to compulsively reach an inappropriate goal and those...

Stracke, J., Otten, W., Tuchscherer, A. et al. 2017. Dietary tryptophan supplementation and affective state in pigs. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 20, 82-90.

The assessment and provision of welfare in farm animals has become a major issue in animal science. A key element for providing good welfare is the enabling of positive affective states in the animals. As...

Gabriel, S. M., Riley, K. M., Spinks, W. A. et al. 2017. Husbandry, care and enrichment of diabetic Sinclair swine in the laboratory environment. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 5(3) (September), 53-57.

Health monitoring, enrichment, training procedures and techniques, as well as instructions for the care of vascular access ports, are outlined in this paper. The procedures described herein helped maintain a successful, long-term research population of...

Monreal-Pawlowsky, T., Marco-Cabedo, V., Manteca, X. et al. 2017. Environmental enrichment facilitates release and survival of an injured loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) after ten years in captivity. Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research 5(4), 182-186.

In June 2006 a loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) was admitted to a rescue centre on the Mediterranean coast with severe fishing net entanglement in its fore right flipper. The flipper could not be saved...

Sousa, F. A., Torres Campos, A., Cecchin, D. et al. 2017. Thermo-acoustic environment of a pig farm facility with different superimposed bed materials. Journal of Animal Behaviour and Biometeorology 5(3), 78-84.

The objective of this work was to compare different bedding materials in swine production systems by evaluating noise and thermal environment indexes. The experiment was performed during June and July, in the finishing phase, in...

Fu, L., Li, H., Lian, T. et al. 2016. Stocking density affects welfare indicators of growing pigs of different group sizes after regrouping. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 174, 42-50.

In recent years, the concept of animal welfare began to be accepted by the Chinese people. On some intensive pig farms, the stocking density for growing pigs is too great, leading to decreased animal welfare...

Brown, J. L., Paris, S., Prado-Oviedo, N. A. 2016. Reproductive health assessment of female elephants in North American zoos and association of husbandry practices with reproductive dysfunction in African Elephants (Loxodonta africana). PLOS ONE 11(7), e0145673.

As part of a multi-institutional study of zoo elephant welfare, we evaluated female elephants managed by zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and applied epidemiological methods to determine what factors in the...

Holdgate, M. R., Meehan, C. L., Hogan, J. N. et al. 2016. Walking behavior of zoo elephants: Associations between GPS-measured daily walking distances and environmental factors, social factors, and welfare indicators. PLOS ONE 11(7), e0150331.

Research with humans and other animals suggests that walking benefits physical health. Perhaps because these links have been demonstrated in other species, it has been suggested that walking is important to elephant welfare, and that...

Yamanashi, Y., Teramoto, M., Morimura, N. et al. 2016. Effects of relocation and individual and environmental factors on the long-term stress levels in captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): Monitoring hair cortisol and behaviors. PLOS ONE 11(7), e0160029.

Understanding the factors associated with the long-term stress levels of captive animals is important from the view of animal welfare. In this study, we investigated the effects of relocation in addition to individual and environmental...

Holdgate, M. R., Meehan, C. L., Hogan, J. N. et al. 2016. Recumbence behavior in zoo elephants: Determination of patterns and frequency of recumbent rest and associated environmental and social factors. PLOS ONE 11(7), e0153301.

Resting behaviors are an essential component of animal welfare but have received little attention in zoological research. African savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana) and Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) rest includes recumbent postures, but no large-scale investigation...