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. 
Lange, A., Waiblinger, S., Heinke, A. et al. 2020. Gentle interactions with restrained and free-moving cows: Effects on the improvement of the animal-human relationship. PLOS ONE 15(11), e0242873.

The animal-human relationship is essential for farm animal welfare and production. Generally, gentle tactile and vocal interactions improve the animal-human relationship in cattle. However, cows that are fearful of humans avoid their close presence and...

Bernhard, J. K., Vidondo, B., Achermann, R. L. et al. 2020. Slightly and moderately lame cows in tie stalls behave differently from non-lame controls. A matched case-control study. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 7, 594825.

Lameness affects dairy cows worldwide and is usually associated with pain. Behavioral differences in lame compared to non-lame tie-stall-housed dairy cows might be less pronounced than in free-stall-housed, since the principle demands to a cow's...

Contreras-Aguilar, M. D., Vallejo-Mateo, P. J., Želvytė, R. et al. 2020. Changes in saliva analytes associated with lameness in cows: A pilot study. Animals 10(11), 2078.

The possible changes in a panel of 21 salivary analytes on a population of cows with lameness before and after treating lameness by hoof trimming were analyzed. Then, the analytes that showed significant changes were...

Cortese, M., Brščić, M., Ughelini, N. et al. 2020. Effectiveness of stocking density reduction on mitigating lameness in a Charolais finishing beef cattle farm. Animals 10(7), 1147.

This study aimed at assessing whether a reduction in stocking density (SKD) would mitigate lameness and positively affect the performance and health of Charolais bulls in an Italian commercial farm. Bulls were distributed in groups...

Leon, A. F., Sanchez, J. A., Romero, M. H. 2020. Association between attitude and empathy with the quality of human-livestock interactions. Animals 10(8), 1304.

The human-animal interactions are a key component of human and animal welfare. The quality of this interaction can therefore be assessed by measuring the reaction response of the animals to the handler’s behavior. The aim...

Rault, J.-L., Waiblinger, S., Boivin, X. et al. 2020. The power of a positive human–animal relationship for animal welfare. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 7, 590867.

Domestic animals often seek and enjoy interacting with humans. Positive human–animal relationships can elicit positive emotions and other positive welfare outcomes. Nevertheless, our understanding of the underlying processes that govern the positive perception of humans...

Sadiq, M. B., Ramanoon, S. Z., Mansor, R. et al. 2020. Claw trimming as a lameness management practice and the association with welfare and production in dairy cows. Animals 10(9), 1515.

Lameness resulting from claw lesions remains a pressing welfare issue in dairy cows. Claw trimming (CT) is a common practice for prevention and management of clinically lame cows. This review summarizes the results of studies...

Lange, A., Bauer, L., Futschik, A. et al. 2020. Talking to cows: Reactions to different auditory stimuli during gentle human-animal interactions. Frontiers in Psychology 11, 2690.

The quality of the animal-human relationship and, consequently, the welfare of animals can be improved by gentle interactions such as stroking and talking. The perception of different stimuli during these interactions likely plays a key...

Oehm, A. W., Jensen, K. C., Tautenhahn, A. et al. 2020. Factors associated with lameness in tie stall housed dairy cows in south Germany. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 7, 601640.

Lameness remains a major concern for animal welfare and productivity in modern dairy production. Even though a trend toward loose housing systems exists and the public expects livestock to be kept under conditions where freedom...

Coventry, C. 2020. Positive reinforcement training as physiotherapy for a brown capuchin (Sapajus apella). RATEL (Journal of the Association of British and Irish Wild Animal Keepers) 47(2), 16-17.

Physiotherapy can be used to treat an animal following surgery, to help correcting abnormal gait and for treating tendon, bone or ligament damage. […] Of course, an animal can’t just be given a set of...

Rojas, D., Broom, D. M., Orihuela, A. et al. 2020. Effects of human-animal relationship on animal productivity and welfare. Journal of Animal Behaviour and Biometeorology 8(3), 196-205.

This is a literature review of the effects of humans' relationships with farm animals on animal productivity and welfare, including the following topics: definition of the concept and description of different tests that have been...

Napolitano, F., Serrapica, F., Braghieri, A. et al. 2019. Human-animal interactions in dairy buffalo farms. Animals 9(5), 246.

This study aimed to assess the relationship between stockperson behavior and buffalo behavior. The research was carried out in 27 buffalo farms. The behavior of stockpeople and animals during milking and the avoidance distance at...

López-Álvarez, J., Sanjorge, Y., Soloaga, S. et al. 2019. Looking for visitor's effect in sanctuaries: Implications of guided visitor groups on the behavior of the chimpanzees at Fundació Mona. Animals 9(6), 347.

The question of 'if and how captive primates are affected by visitors' has gained increasing attention over the last decades. Although the majority reported undesirable effects on behavior and wellbeing, many studies reported contradicting results...

Sherwen, S. L., Hemsworth, P. H. The visitor effect on zoo animals: Implications and opportunities for zoo animal welfare. Animals 9(6), 366.

Achieving and maintaining high standards of animal welfare is critical to the success of a modern zoo. Research has shown that an animal's welfare is highly dependent on how various individual animal factors (e.g., species...

Sharma, A., Phillips, C. J. C. Avoidance distance in sheltered cows and its association with other welfare parameters. Animals 9(7), 396.

The human–animal relationship is an important welfare parameter in animal welfare assessment in cows, and the avoidance distance of cows to a stranger at the feed bunk is measured to assess this relationship. The assessment...

Boreham, T. 2019. Using novel equipment to aid reduction and replacement of the ferret model in influenza transmission. Animal Technology and Welfare 18(1), 59-61.

The ferret model has long been the “gold standard” animal model for studying human influenza infection and is used all around the world for transmission studies. Professor Wendy Barclay and her team have used ferrets...

Association of Primate Veterinarians. 2019. Association of Primate Veterinarians’ Position Statement: Cerebrospinal fluid aspiration for nonhuman primates in biomedical research. JAALAS 58(4), 428-429.

The Association of Primate Veterinarians (APV) recognizes that CSF collection may be required for both clinical and research purposes in nonhuman primates (NHP). Because there are inherent risks associated with the technique, the laboratory animal...

Percie du Sert, N., Rudd, J. A, Apfel, C. C. et al. 2011. Cisplatin-induce emesis: Systematic review and meta-analysis of the ferret model and the effects of 5-HT3 receptor antagonists. Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology 67(3), 667-686.

Purpose: The ferret cisplatin emesis model has been used for ~30 years and enabled identification of clinically used anti-emetics. We provide an objective assessment of this model including efficacy of 5-HT3 receptor antagonists to assess...

Phillips, K.A., Tukan, A. N., Rigodanzo, A. D. et al. 2018. Quantification of hair cortisol concentration in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) and tufted capuchins (Cebus apella). American Journal of Primatology 80(7), e22879.

Quantifying cortisol concentration in hair is a non‐invasive biomarker of long‐term hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) activation, and thus can provide important information on laboratory animal health. Marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) and capuchins (Cebus apella) are New World primates...

Shahin, M. 2018. The effects of positive human contact by tactile stimulation on dairy cows with different personalities. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 204, 23-28.

The understanding of the ways in which cows with different personalities perceive human contact is essential for improving the quality of the human-animal relationship and therefore the welfare of dairy cows. The general objective of...

Ekman, L., Nyman, A.-K., Landin, H. et al. 2018. Hock lesions in dairy cows in freestall herds: A cross-sectional study of prevalence and risk factors. Acta Vererinaria Scandinavica 60(1), 47.

Hock lesions (HL) in dairy cows are a common animal welfare problem in modern dairy production with freestall housing systems, but there are no large-scale studies addressing its epidemiology in Sweden. The aims of this...

Destrez, A., Haslin, E., Boivin, X. 2018. What stockperson behavior during weighing reveals about the relationship between humans and suckling beef cattle: A preliminary study. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 209, 8-13.

The human-animal relationship is a key component of human and farm-animal welfare. Farm surveys, particularly for pig, dairy cattle and veal calf production, which include regular human contact, showed that animals may face aversive handling...

Vázquez Diosdado, J. A., Barker, Z. E., Hodges, H. R. et al. 2018. Space-use patterns highlight behavioural differences linked to lameness, parity, and days in milk in barn-housed dairy cows. PLOS ONE 13(12), e0208424.

Lameness is a key health and welfare issue affecting commercial herds of dairy cattle, with potentially significant economic impacts due to the expense of treatment and lost milk production. Existing lameness detection methods can be...

Buisman, L. L., Alsaaod, M., Bucher, E. et al. 2018. Objective assessment of lameness in cattle after foot surgery. PLOS ONE 13(12), e0209783.

Assessment of lameness in cattle after foot surgery is important to monitor the recovery period, to improve the long-term success and the cows’ welfare. This longitudinal multicenter retrospective study was carried out to evaluate the...

Ebinghaus, A., Ivemeyer, S., Knierim, U. 2018. Human and farm influences on dairy cows´ responsiveness towards humans – a cross-sectional study. PLOS ONE 13(12), e0209817.

The human-animal relationship can have a major impact on cow welfare and stockpersons´ work safety and quality. This cross-sectional study investigated possible effects of stockperson and farm related factors on cows´ behaviour towards humans in...