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. 
D’Alessio, R. M., Hanlon, A., O’Driscoll, K. 2023. Comparison of single- and double-spaced feeders with regard to damaging behavior in pigs. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 10, 1073401.

This work compared the behavior and performance of 24 groups of 12 pigs kept in pens with either a DOUBLE [one feed space aligned with the front wall of the pen (WALL), and one immediately...

Dixon, S., Evans, D., Vindevoghel, T. et al. 2023. Behaviours expressed by rodeo calves during different phases of roping. Animals 13(3), 343.

There are significant welfare concerns with the use of calves in calf roping (also known as rope-and-tie) events in rodeos. However, little work has been carried out to scientifically assess calves’ behavioural responses to the...

Field, L. A., Hemsworth, L. M., Jongman, E. et al. 2023. Contact with mature cows and access to pasture during early life shaped dairy heifer behaviour at integration into the milking herd. Animals 13(13), 2049.

This study aimed to determine the effects of early-life physical and social enrichment on the ability of dairy heifers to integrate into a herd of mature cows. Fifty heifer calves were reared from the ages...

Foris, B., Sadrzadeh, N., Krahn, J. et al. 2023. The effect of placement and group size on the use of an automated brush by groups of lactating dairy cattle. Animals 13(4), 760.

Mechanical brushes are often provided on dairy farms to facilitate grooming. However, current brush designs do not provide data on their use, and thus little is known about the effects of group size and placement...

Galli, M. C., Lagoda, M. E., Gottardo, F. et al. 2023. The role of environmental enrichment and back fat depth in the intensity of aggressive behavior performed by sows during the establishment of the dominancy hierarchy. Animals 13(5), 825.

For sows introduced into new groups, the aggressive behavior associated with establishing a social hierarchy represents a period of severe stress. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of providing sows with...

Kumar, P., Abubakar, A. A., Imlan, J. C. et al. 2023. Importance of knife sharpness during slaughter: Shariah and Kosher perspective and scientific validation. Animals 13(11), 1751.

Halal and kosher slaughter have given the utmost importance to the sharpness of knives during the slaughter of animals. A sharp knife of appropriate dimension (blade length) makes slaughter less painful during neck severance and...

Mahendran, S. A., Wathes, D. C., Booth, R. E. et al. 2023. Effects of individual and pair housing of calves on short-term health and behavior on a UK commercial dairy farm. Animals 13(13), 2140.

Social pair housing of calves has previously demonstrated positive impacts for calves, so this study aimed to compare the health and behaviour of calves kept in individual compared to pair housing on a single commercial...

Palermo Mendes, J., Ribeiro Caldara, F., de Castro Burbarelli, M. F. et al. 2023. Performance and welfare of sows exposed to auditory environmental enrichment in mixed or collective housing systems. Animals 13(7), 1226.

The research aimed to assess the effects of auditory environmental enrichment on sows in mixed housing (caged until 35 days after insemination and then collective pens) or collective housing (caged until 72 h after insemination...

Rørvang, M. V., Schild, S.-L. A., Stenfelt, J. et al. 2023. Odor exploration behavior of the domestic pig (Sus scrofa) as indicator of enriching properties of odors. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 17, 1173298.

Although the sense of smell in pigs is widely recognized as being highly developed, surprisingly little is known about their sensory ability. This study aimed to (a) identify which non-social odors pigs were able to...

Russell, A. L., Randall, L. V., Kaler, J. et al. 2023. Use of qualitative behavioural assessment to investigate affective states of housed dairy cows under different environmental conditions. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 10, 1099170.

In addition to the reduction of suboptimal welfare, there is now a need to provide farmed animals with positive opportunities to provide confidence that they have experienced a life worth living. Diversification of the environment...

Smith, L. A., Swain, D. L., Innocent, G. T. et al. 2023. Social isolation of unfamiliar cattle by groups of familiar cattle. Behavioural Processes 207, 104847.

Domestic herbivores show a strong motivation to form associations with conspecifics and the social dynamics of any group is dependant on the individuals within the group. Thus, common farm management practices such mixing may cause...

Alvarez-Hernandez, N., Vallejo-Timarán, D., de Jesús Rodriguez, B. 2023. Adapted original music as an environmental enrichment in an intensive pig production system reduced aggression in weaned pigs during regrouping. Animals 13(23), 3599.

In intensive swine production systems,, the practice of regrouping unfamiliar pigs is common, often leading to aggressive behavior. Although the effect of different musical genres composed for humans has been evaluated in pigs to mitigate...

Buckham-Sporer, K., Earley, B., Marti, S. 2023. Current knowledge on the transportation by road of cattle, including unweaned calves. Animals 13(21), 3393.

Transport conditions have the potential to alter the physiological responses of animals to the psychological or physical stress of transport. Transportation may introduce multiple physical and psychological stressors to unweaned calves and adult cattle, including...

dos Santos Lemes Lechuga, K. K., Caldara, F. R., de Castro Burbarelli, M. F. et al. 2023. Music and tactile stimuli during daily milking affect the welfare and productivity of dairy cows. Animals 13(23), 3671.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of tactile stimuli and music during daily milking on the productive, physiological, well-being, and health parameters of dairy cows. The experiment, which lasted 39 days...

Grandin, T. 2023. A practical approach to providing environmental enrichment to pigs and broiler chickens housed in intensive systems. Animals 13(14), 2372.

In Europe, regulations contain guidance to maintain high standards of animal welfare. In many parts of the world, large buyers for supermarkets or restaurants are the main enforcers of basic animal welfare standards. They can...

Aigueperse, N., Boyer, V., Vasseur, E. 2023. How outing conditions relate to the motivation of movement-restricted cattle to access an outdoor exercise yard. Behavioural Processes 213, 104957.

Assessing animal motivation to access a given resource is one method available to evaluate what to provide in the living environments of captive animals. Providing increased opportunities for movement can be seen as an important...

Crone, C., Caldara, F. R., Martins, R. et al. 2023. Environmental enrichment for pig welfare during transport. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 26(3), 393–403.

This study aimed to assess the effects of environmental enrichment for pigs during transportation in different phases of their productive cycle. Two trials were conducted, the first during transportation of pigs from the piglet production...

Kim, J., Lee, J., Kang, K. et al. 2023. Effects of sling belt provision on behaviour, skin lesions, and salivary cortisol level in growing pigs after transport and regrouping. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 269, 106116.

The provision of enrichment material has been widely recommended to mitigate stress and minimise aggressive behaviour as well as enhance the welfare of pigs after transport and regrouping. In this study, we assessed the effects...

Lanthony, M., Briard, E., Špinka, M. et al. 2023. Weaned piglet’s reactivity to humans, tonic immobility and behaviour in a spatial maze test is affected by gestating sows’ relationship to humans and positive handling at weaning. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 268, 106080.

Fear of human can impact negatively offspring’s behaviour and cognition whereas early positive handling has positive impacts. The aim of this study was to evaluate the crossed effects of trans-generational transfer and familiarisation with human...

Nogues, E., Ede, T., Woodroffe, R. E. et al. 2023. Can a social partner alleviate conditioned place aversion caused by isolation and pain in dairy calves? Applied Animal Behaviour Science 269, 106092.

Social buffering occurs when the presence of a partner mitigates the stress response of an individual. In two experiments, we assessed the effects of social buffering in dairy calves, with and without a known conspecific...

Rørvang, M. V., Schild, S.-L. A., Wallenbeck, A. et al. 2023. Rub ‘n’ roll – Pigs, Sus scrofa domesticus, display rubbing and rolling behaviour when exposed to odours. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 266, 106022.

Pigs are regarded as having a highly developed sense of smell, although scientific information on the topic is sparse. Here, we describe two behaviours unexpectedly observed in a study assessing pigs’ responses to odours and...

Vargas, L. B., Caldara, F. R., Lippi, I. C. de C. et al. 2023. Environmental enrichment strategies for weaned pigs: Welfare and behavior. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 26(2), 205–217.

This research aims to evaluate the effects of different types and strategies of environmental enrichment for weaned pigs on behavior. Forty weaned piglets aged 21 to 28 days were distributed in a completely randomized design...

Sundman, E. R., Gabler, N. K., Millman, S. T. et al. 2022. The use of attractants to stimulate neonatal piglet interest in rope enrichment. Animals 12(2), 211.

In the United States swine industry, preweaning mortality represents the highest mortality rate of any production phase, nearly half attributed to crushing. The overarching aim of this study was to determine if enrichment ropes would...

Rowe, E., Mullan, S. 2022. Advancing a “good life” for farm animals: Development of resource tier frameworks for on-farm assessment of positive welfare for beef cattle, broiler chicken and pigs. Animals 12(5), 565.

There is increasing recognition that farm animal welfare standards should ensure positive welfare, as well as prevent negative welfare. Resources that are valued by an animal and that provide opportunities to engage in motivated behaviours...

Lindner, E. E., Gingerich, K. N., Burke, K. C. et al. 2022. Effects of social housing on dairy calf social bonding. Animals 12(7), 821.

Social housing for dairy calves has a range of benefits for social development, yet there is limited understanding of how social bonds form early in life. We characterized effects of early life social contact on...