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. 
Saville, J. W., Ross, J. A., Trefz, T. et al. 2020. Development and field validation of lidocaine-loaded castration bands for bovine pain mitigation. Animals 10(12), 2363.

Castration is among the most common management procedures performed in the dairy and beef cattle industries and is mainly performed by surgery or elastic banding. Despite the various benefits of castration, all methods produce pain...

Ninomiya, S. 2019. Grooming device effects on behaviour and welfare of Japanese black fattening cattle. Animals 9(4), 186.

In livestock farming, a stark or barren environment compromises animal welfare. Environmental enrichment has been used to address the issue. For this study, after fattening cattle were provided with a grooming device (a brush), its...

Van der Saag, D., Lomax, S., Windsor, P. A. et al. 2019. Effect of lignocaine and a topical vapocoolant spray on pain response during surgical castration of beef calves. Animals 9(4), 126.

This study assessed the efficacy of pre-operative injected lignocaine and peri-operative topical vapocoolant spray, administered as most practical for incorporation into routine calf castration procedures. Calves were randomly allocated to: (1) sham castration (SHAM); (2)...

Mandel, R., Wenker, M. L., van Reenen, K. et al. 2019. Can access to an automated grooming brush and/or a mirror reduce stress of dairy cows kept in social isolation? Applied Animal Behaviour Science 211, 1-8.

In dairy farming, social isolation of cattle is commonly practiced for husbandry procedures such as artificial insemination, claw trimming and at times, for provision of medical treatment. When isolated, cows express physiological and behavioural signs...

Gladden, N., Ellis, K., Martin, J. et al. 2019. A single dose of ketoprofen in the immediate postpartum period has the potential to improve dairy calf welfare in the first 48 h of life. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 212, 19-29.

The welfare impact of birth on newborn calves has rarely been studied. Dystocia in particular may have significant welfare costs for calves. While analgesia is sometimes provided to calves born to difficult parturition by veterinary...

Barreiro-Vázquez, J. D., Miranda, M., Barreiro-Vilanova, M. I. et al. 2019. Characterization of the normal portal and hepatic blood flow of adult Holstein-Friesian cows. Animals 9(6), 386.

Knowledge of physiological portal and hepatic blood flow in cattle is essential for the use of Doppler ultrasound for diagnostic purposes. In this paper, we describe a protocol for the systematic ultrasonography evaluation of the...

Lowe, G., Sutherland, M., Waas, J. et al. 2019. Infrared thermography—A non-invasive method of measuring respiration rate in calves. Animals 9(8), 535.

Respiration rate (RR) is commonly used to assess states of cattle health and welfare such as pain, stress and disease. Traditionally, RR is measured by counting flank movements, a method often considered to be labour-intensive...

Ninomiya, S. 2019. Grooming device effects on behaviour and welfare of Japanese black fattening cattle. Animals 9(4), 186.

In livestock farming, a stark or barren environment compromises animal welfare. Environmental enrichment has been used to address the issue. For this study, after fattening cattle were provided with a grooming device (a brush), its...

Ede, T., von Keyserlingk, M. A. G., Weary, D. M. 2019. Assessing the affective component of pain, and the efficacy of pain control, using conditioned place aversion in calves. Biology Letters 15(10), 20190642.

Pain in animals is typically assessed using reflexive and physiological responses. These measures allow inferences regarding nociception but provide little basis for conclusions about the affective component of pain (i.e. how negatively the experience is...

Marti, S., Meléndez, D. M., Pajor, E. A. et al. 2019. Effect of a single dose of subcutaneous meloxicam before knife castration alone or combined with hot-iron branding on scrotal healing, inflammatory response, and behaviour in 2-mo-old beef calves over 42 d post procedure. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 99(1), 179-190.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a single subcutaneous injection of meloxicam on scrotal healing, inflammatory response, and behaviour in castrated or castrated and branded beef calves for 42 d...

ur Rahman, M. A., Xia, C., Ji, L. et al. 2019. Nutrient intake, feeding patterns, and abnormal behavior of growing bulls fed different concentrate levels and a single fiber source (corn stover silage). Journal of Veterinary Behavior 33, 46-53.

Twenty-eight bulls weighing 227 ± 6.8 (SD) kg were randomly assigned to four concentrate levels (1-1.5 kg [low level of concentrate {LC}], 1.5-2 kg [medium level of concentrate], 2-2.5 kg [high level of concentrate {HC}]...

Kop Fogsgaard, K., Bertelsen, M., Winther Christensen, J. 2019. Does shelter design matter? A note on the effect of two shelter types on shelter use by cattle during winter. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 34, 18-21.

Little is known about the effect of shelter design on sheltering behavior in out-wintered cattle. In this pilot study, we explored the effects of two different shelter designs (rectangular: 50 m2 vs. hexagonal 53 m2...

Jorquera-Chavez, M., Fuentes, S., Dunshea, F. et al. 2019. Modelling and validation of computer vision techniques to assess heart rate, eye temperature, ear-base temperature and respiration rate in cattle. Animals 9(12), 1089.

Precision livestock farming has emerged with the aim of providing detailed information to detect and reduce problems related to animal management. This study aimed to develop and validate computer vision techniques to track required features...

Cox, R. J., Nol, P., Ellis, C. K. et al. 2019. Research with agricultural animals and wildlife. ILAR Journal 60(1), 66-73.

In fiscal year 2016, agricultural animals such as swine, sheep, goats, and cattle represented 10% of the 820 812 animals used in USDA-regulated research. In addition to traditional agricultural animals, research studies using captive wildlife...

Carvalho, C. da C. S., Cordeiro de Souza, A., Ferreira, H. C. et al. 2019. Using infrared thermography to measure the body surface temperature of crossbred cows and calves in the semi-arid region of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Journal of Animal Behaviour and Biometeorology 7(3), 132-136.

This study aimed to evaluate the body surface temperature of crossbreed cows and calves managed in the semi-arid region of Minas Gerais (Brazil), using the infrared thermography technique. The thermal environment was characterized by daily...

Špinka, M. 2019. Animal agency, animal awareness and animal welfare. Animal Welfare 28(1), 11–20.

In nature, animals need to actively engage with the environment in order to prosper in survival and reproduction. Hence, agency is a central adaptive characteristic of animal life. In this paper, I propose that from...

Van der Saag, D., Lomax, S., Windsor, P. A. et al. 2018. Evaluating treatments with topical anaesthetic and buccal meloxicam for pain and inflammation caused by amputation dehorning of calves. PLOS ONE 13(6), e0198808.

To assess the effects of a topical anaesthetic (TA) and buccal meloxicam (BM) on behaviour, maximum wound temperature and wound morphology following amputation dehorning of beef calves, 50 unweaned Hereford calves were randomly allocated to...

Volkmann, N., Kemper, N. 2018. Claw condition and claw health in dairy cows: how important is access to pasture? Veterinary Record 182(3), 76-78.

Housing cows on hard flooring is associated with increased claw disorders. Pasture access shows a positive effect on claw health, particularly for diseases that are related to moist environments (eg, digital dermatitis). Regular documentation of...

Armbrecht, L., Lambertz, C., Albers, D. et al. 2018. Does access to pasture affect claw condition and health in dairy cows? Veterinary Record 182(3), 79.

The aim of this study was to examine effects of pasturing in dairy cows on claw condition (claw length, hardness) and on the prevalence of claw diseases. At claw trimming, a total of 240 Holstein-Friesian...

Verdon, M., Rawnsley, R., Raedts, P. et al. 2018. The behaviour and productivity of mid-lactation dairy cows provided daily pasture allowance over 2 or 7 intensively grazed strips. Animals 8(7), 115.

Research into the effects of intense grazing regimes on cattle behaviour and productivity will support the ethical intensification of pastoral dairy production. Two treatments were applied to two herds of 30 mid-lactation cows over 28...

Van der Saag, D., White, P., Ingram, L. et al. 2018. Effects of topical anaesthetic and buccal meloxicam treatments on concurrent castration and dehorning of beef calves. Animals 8(3), 35.

The use of pain relief during castration and dehorning of calves on commercial beef operations can be limited by constraints associated with the delivery of analgesic agents. As topical anaesthetic (TA) and buccal meloxicam (MEL)...

Wagner, K., Brinkmann, J., March, S. et al. 2018. Impact of daily grazing time on dairy cow welfare—results of the Welfare Quality® protocol. Animals 8(1), 1.

Grazing provides livestock better opportunities to act out their species-specific behavior compared to restrictive stable conditions. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of daily grazing time on welfare of dairy...

McConnachie, E., Smid, A. M. C., Thompson, A. J. et al. 2018. Cows are highly motivated to access a grooming substrate. Biology Letters 14(8), 20180303.

In natural environments, cattle use trees and other abrasive surfaces to scratch and groom themselves. Modern indoor dairy cattle housing systems often lack appropriate grooming substrates, restricting the animals’ ability to groom. We assessed the...

de Boyer des Roches, A., Lussert, A., Faure, M. et al. 2018. Dairy cows under experimentally-induced Escherichia coli mastitis show negative emotional states assessed through Qualitative Behaviour Assessment. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 206, 1-11.

Mastitis and associated pain have been identified as a major health and welfare problem affecting dairy cows, however little is known about how cows emotionally experience this illness. Qualitative behaviour assessment (QBA) is a ‘whole...

Sutherland, M. A., Larive, J., Cave, V. et al. 2018. Behavioural and physiological responses to clove oil injected under the horn bud of calves. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 204, 29-36.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the acute and longer-term behavioural and physiological responses caused by administering clove oil under the horn bud of calves and compare these with the responses caused by...