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. 
Donald, K., Benedetti, A., Goulart, V. D. L. R. et al. 2023. Environmental enrichment devices are safe and effective at reducing undesirable behaviors in California sea lions and norther elephant seals during rehabilitation. Animals 13(7), 1222.

Environmental enrichment devices (EEDs) have been proven to promote positive wellbeing in zoos and aquariums, and support animals’ reintroduction success; however, their use in rehabilitation centers is still limited. This pilot study investigated the safety...

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...

Warwick, C., Pilny, A., Steedman, C. et al. 2023. Mobile zoos and other itinerant animal handling events: Current status and recommendations for future policies. Animals 13(2), 214.

Mobile zoos are events in which non-domesticated (exotic) and domesticated species are transported to venues such as schools, hospitals, parties, and community centres, for the purposes of education, entertainment, or social and therapeutic assistance. We...

Brando, S., Norman, M. 2023. Handling and training of wild animals: Evidence and ethics-based approaches and best practices in the modern zoo. Animals 13(14), 2247.

There is an ethical responsibility to provide all animals living in human care with optimal and positive well-being. As animals living in zoos and aquariums frequently interact with their human caregivers as part of their...

Roberts, D. L., Eskelinen, H. C., Winship, K. A. et al. 2023. Effects of failure on california sea lion (zalophus californianus) gameplay strategies and interest in a cognitive task: Implications for cognitive enrichment in pinnipeds. Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens 4(1), 240–255.

Cognitive enrichment for professionally managed species has become more prevalent in recent years in both zoological and research settings and has been encouraged as a means of welfare enhancement. However, the task’s difficulty must be...

Brereton, J., Rose, P. 2022. An evaluation of the role of 'biological evidence' in zoo and aquarium enrichment practices. Animal Welfare 31(1), 13-26.

Evidence-based approaches are key to advancing all areas of zoo and aquarium practice. Output from empirical study must be disseminated to those within the industry so that results can support changes to husbandry and management...

Windsor, P. A. 2022. Role of topical anaesthesia in pain management of farm animals, a changing paradigm. Animals 12(18), 2459.

Field evidence indicates that livestock producers are motivated by access to products that readily deliver pain management during husbandry interventions and, more recently, viral epidermal infectious diseases, including FMD. There has been impressive adoption in...

Whoriskey, S., Pearson, L. E., Harris, H. S. et al. 2022. Using a combination of midazolam and butorphanol is a safe and effective reversible field sedation protocol for Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddellii) pups. Vet Record 191(11), e2238.

Background: Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) are a well-studied species of phocid with an apparent sensitivity to immobilising agents. Mortality as high as 31% has been reported during field immobilisation. This study investigated the use of...

Nagabaskaran, G., Skinner, M., Miller, N. 2022. Western hognose snakes (Heterodon nasicus) prefer environmental enrichment. Animals 12(23), 3347.

The environmental enrichment needs of snakes are often disregarded. Using preference testing, we aimed to shed light on the enrichment preferences of a popular pet species, the western hognose snake (Heterodon nasicus). Snakes’ enclosures were...

Martinic, G. 2021. Husbandry and healthcare of the Olive python (Liasis olivaceus). Animal Technology and Welfare 20(1), 44-50.

The article describes the care of the Olive python (Liasis olivaceus) including information on housing, feeding, handling, as well as the general health care of these animals. Some of the information presented is derived from...

Hoehfurtner, T., Wilkinson, A., Nagabaskaran, G. et al. 2021. Does the provision of environmental enrichment affect the behaviour and welfare of captive snakes? Applied Animal Behaviour Science 239, 105324.

There is a wealth of evidence demonstrating the benefits of environmental enrichment across a range of different animal species. However, there is comparatively little such research into the effect of enrichment provision on captive reptiles...

Hollandt, T., Baur, M., Wöhr, A.-C. 2021. Animal-appropriate housing of ball pythons (Python regius)—Behavior-based evaluation of two types of housing systems. PLOS ONE 16(5), e0247082.

Considering animal welfare, animals should be kept in animal-appropriate and stress-free housing conditions in all circumstances. To assure such conditions, not only basic needs must be met, but also possibilities must be provided that allow...

Monreal-Pawlowsky, T., Vaicekauskaitė , R., Palencia Membrive, G. et al. 2021. Goal-oriented behavioural and environmental enrichment in aquarium species. Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research, 9(4), 273-280.

Environmental enrichment is a common tool used in zoo and aquarium settings to provide mental and physical stimulation to animals under human care. This paper aims to present a primary approach to goal-oriented environmental and...

Yaw, T. J., Mans, C., Johnson,S. et al. 2020. Evaluation of subcutaneous administration of alfaxalone-midazolam and dexmedetomidine-midazolam for sedation of ball pythons (Python regius). Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 256(5), 573-579.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate SC administration of alfaxalone-midazolam and dexmedetomidine-midazolam for sedation of ball pythons (Python regius). ANIMALS: 12 healthy juvenile ball pythons. PROCEDURES: In a randomized crossover study, each snake was administered a combination of...

Petrović, T. G., Vučić, T. Z., Nikolić, S. Z. et al. 2020. The effect of shelter on oxidative stress and aggressive behavior in crested newt larvae (Triturus spp.). Animals 10(4), 603.

Shelters are important for animal survival. Provision of adequate hiding places allow animals to express their natural sheltering behavior and it can have different positive effects on cortisol levels, physiological processes and mental performance. Although...

Hosking, A., Martinic, G. 2020. The care of the Children’s Python (Antaresia childreni). Animal Technology and Welfare 19(2), 118-122.

This article describes the care of the Children’s python (Antaresia childreni). It includes information on housing, feeding, handling, as well as the general health care of these animals. The information presented is derived from Standard...

Kane, L. P., Chinnadurai, S. K., Vivirito, K. et al. 2020. Comparison of isoflurane, sevoflurane, and desflurane as inhalant anesthetics in prairie rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis). Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 257(9), 945-949.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize induction and recovery characteristics of 3 commonly used inhalant anesthetics in prairie rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis): isoflurane, sevoflurane, and desflurane. ANIMALS: 12 healthy adult prairie rattlesnakes. PROCEDURES: In a randomized crossover design, snakes...

Ross, M., Rausch, Q., Vandenberg, B. et al. 2020. Hens with benefits: Can environmental enrichment make chickens more resilient to stress? Physiology Behavior, 226, 113077.

Resilience, the degree to which individuals are physiologically and behaviourally impacted by stressors, can be enhanced by positive experiences (e.g. positive moods in human, environmental enrichment in rodents). Such effects are important for human health...

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...

Alligood, C. A., Dorey, N. R., Mehrkam, L. R. et al. 2017. Applying behavior-analytic methodology to the science and practice of environmental enrichment in zoos and aquariums. Zoo Biology 36(3), 175–185.

Environmental enrichment in zoos and aquariums is often evaluated at two overlapping levels: published research and day‐to‐day institutional record keeping. Several authors have discussed ongoing challenges with small sample sizes in between‐groups zoological research and...

Clark, F. E. 2013. Marine mammal cognition and captive care: A proposal for cognitive enrichment in zoos and aquariums. Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research 1(1), 1-6.

Marine mammals, particularly cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) and pinnipeds (seals, sea lions and walruses) are popular in zoos and aquariums worldwide. Bottlenose dolphins and California sea lions have also been popular study species in...

Hoy, J. M., Murray, P. J., Tribe, A. 2010. Thirty years later: Enrichment practices for captive mammals. Zoo Biology 29(3), 303-316.

Environmental enrichment of captive mammals has been steadily evolving over the past thirty years. For this process to continue, it is first necessary to define current enrichment practices and then identify the factors that limit...

Pecenko, N. 1997. Visitors as an environmental enrichment. In: Proceedings on the International Conference on Environmental Enrichment. Holst, B. (ed), 325-33. Copenhagen Zoo, Frederiksberg, DK.

Because of the influence in behaviour, we can say that visitors are a kind of environmental enrichment. .... Sometimes visitors have a negative effect (increase of aggressive behaviour, begging for food) and in some cases...