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. 
Cellier, M., Nielsen, B. L., Duvaux-Ponter, C. et al. 2022. Browse or browsing: Investigating goat preferences for feeding posture, feeding height and feed type. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 9, 1032631.

Goats naturally browse different forages in various postures; this differs from typical farm practice, thus there are opportunities to improve goat welfare by understanding what and how they like to eat. We investigated if feeding...

Chen, Y.-A., Chen, J.-Y., Chen, W.-Q. et al. 2022. Effects of castration age on the growth performance of Nubian crossbred male goats. Animals 12(24), 3516.

To determine the optimal timing for performing castration on goats, eighteen male Nubian crossbred goats were randomly assigned to two groups and castrated at 3 months and 6 months of age, respectively. Daily dry matter...

Curtis, A. K., Jones, D. E., Kleinhenz, M. et al. 2022. Delivering an immunocastration vaccine via a novel subcutaneous implant. Animals 12(19), 2698.
Dickson, E. J., Campbell, D. L. M., Lee, C. et al. 2022. Beef cattle preference and usage of environmental enrichments provided simultaneously in a pasture-based environment. Animals 12(24), 3544.

Environmental enrichment can improve livestock welfare through increasing environmental complexity to promote a greater range of natural behaviours. However, there is limited understanding of the need for and impacts of enrichments for extensively managed beef...

Fischer-Tenhagen, C., Meier, J., Pohl, A. 2022. “Do not look at me like that”: Is the facial expression score reliable and accurate to evaluate pain in large domestic animals? A systematic review. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 9, 1002681.

Facial expression scoring has proven to be useful for pain evaluation in humans. In the last decade, equivalent scales have been developed for various animal species, including large domestic animals. The research question of this...

Goldsmith, R., Wilson, C. 2022. Does environmental colour matter to Zebrafish. Animal Technology and Welfare 21(3), 234–237.

The aim of this study was to determine if environmental colour affects the Zebrafrish (Danio rerio) performance metrics of survival, growth rates, fecundity, and fertility. This study created tanks of different colours (green, blue, and...

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...

Mayes, B. T., Tait, L. A., Cowley, F. C. et al. 2022. Stocking density, restricted trough space, and implications for sheep behaviour and biological functioning. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 9, 965635.

Stocking density and trough space allowance can potentially impact sheep welfare during live export voyages. The aim of this study was to assess the welfare implications for sheep housed at five allometric stocking densities, with...

Mota-Rojas, D., Velarde, A., Marcet-Rius, M. et al. 2022. Analgesia during parturition in domestic animals: Perspectives and controversies on its use. Animals 12(19), 2686.

This article analyzes the physiological role of pain during parturition in domestic animals, discusses the controversies surrounding the use of opioids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and local analgesics as treatments during labor, and presents the...

Prentice, P. M., Houslay, T. M., Wilson, A. J. 2022. Exploiting animal personality to reduce chronic stress in captive fish populations. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 9, 1046205.

Chronic stress is a major source of welfare problems in many captive populations, including fishes. While we have long known that chronic stress effects arise from maladaptive expression of acute stress response pathways, predicting where...

Saraiva, J. L., Rachinas-Lopes, P., Arechavala-Lopez, P. 2022. Finding the “golden stocking density”: A balance between fish welfare and farmers’ perspectives. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 9, 930221.

The effects of stocking density on fish welfare are complex and involve many interacting parameters. This complex relationship between fish welfare, stocking density and influencing factors make it challenging to define a specific optimal (“golden”)...

Sonne, C., Alstrup, A. K. O., Pertoldi, C. et al. 2022. Cortisol in manure from cattle enclosed with nofence virtual fencing. Animals 12(21), 3017.

To increase the efficiency and geographic expansion of nature conservation, large grazers have recently been used, either in the form of wild hoof-bearing animals or as domesticated ruminants including cattle. Using physical fencing limits migrating...

Torgerson-White, L., Sánchez-Suárez, W. 2022. Looking beyond the shoal: Fish welfare as an individual attribute. Animals 12(19), 2592.

Welfare is an individual attribute. In general, providing captive nonhuman animals with conditions conducive to good welfare is an idea more easily applied when dealing with few individuals. However, this becomes much harder—if not impossible—under...

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...

Vanderzwalmen, M., Sánchez Lacalle, D., Tamilselvan, P. et al. 2022. The effect of substrate on water quality in ornamental fish tanks. Animals 12(19), 2679.

Almost all home aquaria contain substrate, either as intentional enrichment or for aesthetic purposes. For fishes, benefits of structural enrichment have been well considered, particularly in research and aquaculture settings. However, our understanding of the...

Webb, L. E., Marcato, F., Bokkers, E. a. M. et al. 2022. Impact of early dam contact on veal calf welfare. Scientific Reports 12(1), 22144.

Dairy calves, including surplus calves, are typically separated from their dam within hours of birth. The aim of this study was to assess the welfare impacts of raising surplus calves destined for veal with their...

Gilmour, K. M., Bard, B. 2022. Social buffering of the stress response: Insights from fishes. Biology Letters 18(10), 20220332.

Social buffering of stress refers to the effect of a social partner in reducing the cortisol or corticosterone response to a stressor. It has been well studied in mammals, particularly those that form pair bonds...

Aigueperse, N., Vasseur, E. 2021. Providing an outdoor exercise area affects tie-stall cow reactivity and human-cow relations. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 7, 1172.

Confinement and restriction of movement are a reality for most dairy cows. Providing outdoor access is one method to increase movement opportunities. However, leading cows to an outdoor exercise area increases their exposure to manipulations...

Reipurth, M., Klausen, S. K., Denwood, M. et al. 2021. The effect of age when group housed and other management factors on playing and non-nutritive sucking behaviour in dairy calves: A cross sectional observational study. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 62, 63.

The aim of this study was to investigate if calves’ play behaviour and non-nutritive sucking behaviour, as indirect measures of welfare status, are associated with the age of the calf when group housed, age when...

Idris, M., Uddin, J., Sullivan, M. et al. 2021. Non-invasive physiological indicators of heat stress in cattle. Animals 11(1), 71.

Cattle are susceptible to heat stress, especially those kept on high levels of nutrition for the purpose of maximising growth rates, which leads to a significant heat increment in their bodies. Consequences include compromised health...

Brooke Collins, E., Blackie, N. 2021. The impacts of waterproof insulated jackets on lamb performance on a UK lowland farm. Animals 11(1), 217.

The majority of lamb losses occur within the first two weeks of life, with cold stress being a major cause of lamb morbidity and mortality. This study investigated the effect of insulating lamb jackets on...

Kim, S., Hidaka, Y. 2021. Breathing pattern analysis in cattle using infrared thermography and computer vision. Animals 11(1), 207.

Breathing patterns can be considered a vital sign providing health information. Infrared thermography is used to evaluate breathing patterns because it is non-invasive. Our study used not only sequence temperature data but also RGB images...

Lee, C., Campbell, D. L. M. 2021. A multi-disciplinary approach to assess the welfare impacts of a new virtual fencing technology. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 8, 637709.

Virtual fencing involving the application of audio cues and electrical stimuli is being commercially developed for cattle. Virtual fencing has the potential to improve productivity through optimized pasture management and utilization by grazing animals. The...

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...

Zigo, F., Vasil', M., Ondrašovičová, S. et al. 2021. Maintaining optimal mammary gland health and prevention of mastitis. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 8, 607311.

In dairy industry, quality of produced milk must be more important than quantity without a high somatic cells count (SCC) or pathogens causing mastitis of dairy cows and consumer diseases. Preserving the good health of...