Refinement Database

Database on Refinement of Housing, Husbandry, Care, and Use of Animals in Research

This database, created in 2000, is updated every three months with newly published scientific articles, books, and other publications related to improving or safeguarding the welfare of animals used in research.

Links to the full text for publications that appear in open access journals or are published on the AWI website are provided under the abstract.

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 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. Most publications older than 2010 can only be searched by keyword. 
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...
Taylor, P. S., Hemsworth, P. H., Rault, J.-L. 2022. Environmental complexity: Additional human visual contact reduced meat chickens’ fear of humans and physical items altered pecking behavior. Animals 12(3), 310.
Increased environmental complexity can improve animal welfare, depending on the resources provided and use by the animal. We provided chickens either with physical items that posed no biosecurity risk and were inexpensive (balls, chains, perches...
Campbell, D. L. M., Belson, S., Dyall, T. R. et al. 2022. Impacts of rearing enrichments on pullets’ and free-range hens’ positive behaviors across the flock cycle. Animals 12(3), 280.
Enrichment during the indoor rearing of pullets destined for free-range systems may optimize pullet development including increasing motivated natural behaviors (termed ‘positive behaviors’) including foraging, dust bathing and chick play. Hy-Line Brown® chicks (n =...
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...
Mocz, F., Michel, V., Janvrot, M. et al. 2022. Positive effects of elevated platforms and straw bales on the welfare of fast-growing broiler chickens reared at two different stocking densities. Animals 12(5), 542.
In conventional rearing systems, fast-growing broiler chickens commonly experience welfare issues, such as contact dermatitis, walking difficulties or a lack of expression of species-specific behaviours. Enriching their environment may be a way to improve their...
Baker, P. E., Nicol, C. J., Weeks, C. A. 2022. The effect of hard pecking enrichment during rear on feather cover, feather pecking behaviour and beak length in beak-trimmed and intact-beak laying hen pullets. Animals 12(6), 674.
Injurious pecking, commonly controlled by beak trimming (BT), is a widespread issue in laying hens associated with thwarted foraging. This controlled study compared the effect in intact and beak-trimmed pullets of providing pecking pans to...
Sandilands, V., Baker, L., Donbavand, J. et al. 2022. Do hens use enrichments provided in free-range systems? Animals 12(8), 995.
Hens in free-range systems are given enrichments to increase foraging and limit injurious pecking, but the efficacy of enrichment types requires investigation. We studied hen behaviour and feather cover in eight commercial free-range flocks each...
Vasdal, G., Gebhardt-Henrich, S.G., Kittelsen, K.E. et al. 2022. Commercial broiler breeder pullet hens use perches but show no preference for perch type or height. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 249, 105608.
An important behavioral need for laying hens is perching, but few studies have investigated perching behavior in commercial broiler breeder pullets. The aim of this study was to investigate perching behavior throughout the pullet period...
Nguyen, T. T. H., Nguyen, T. M. D. 2022. Non-invasive assessment of physiological stress in captive common palm civets (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) in Vietnam. Journal of Animal Behaviour and Biometeorology 10(2), 2219.
Common Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) is a rare mammal appearing in South and Southeast Asia, first described in 1777. Because of the detrimental effects of stress, studying stress responses is important for this wildlife conservation...
Habenicht, L. M., Staley, A. W., Clancy, B. M. et al. 2022. Characterization of a jumping stereotypy in gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) and assessment of opaque tubing enrichment on stereotypies and breeding. JAALAS 61(2), 149-158.
Mongolian gerbils can develop stereotypic behaviors, including corner digging. At our institution, gerbils also engage in repetitive corner jumping, which we sought to characterize as a potentially novel stereotypy in gerbils. We then attempted to...
de Faria, C. M., Sá, F. de S., Costa, D. D. L. et al. 2022. Environmental enrichment for collared peccaries Dicotyles tajacu, Tayassuidae in managed care: Different items provoke different behavioural responses. Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research 10(2), 82–90.
Being in human care often modifies the behaviour of animals, mainly because of the lack of environmental stimuli, and the ease of finding food and reproductive partners. Animals in human care may have a poorer...
Son, J., Lee, W.-D., Kim, H.-J. et al. 2022. Effect of providing environmental enrichment into aviary house on the welfare of laying hens. Animals 12(9), 1165.
This study aimed to determine the effects of providing environmental enrichment materials—pumice stone and alfalfa hay—to laying hens in the aviary system. A total of 2196 40-week-old Hy-Line Brown laying hens were randomly allotted to...
Vicino, G. A., Sheftel, J. J., Radosevich, L. M. 2022. Enrichment is simple, that’s the problem: Using outcome-based husbandry to shift from enrichment to experience. Animals 12(10), 1293.
Over the decades, the use of environmental enrichment has evolved from a necessary treatment to a “best practice” in virtually all wildlife care settings. The breadth of this evolution has widened to include more complex...
Deacon, F., Daffue, W., Nel, P. 2022. Effective field immobilisation and capture of giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis). Animals 12(10), 1290.
One of the highest occurrences of mortalities among giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis) takes place during immobilisations, captures and translocations. Common mistakes, human error, unforeseen risks, the awkward anatomy and the sheer size of the animal are...
Vasdal, G., Gebhardt-Henrich, S. G., Tahamtani, F. et al. 2022. Perch use in commercial broiler breeders – Preference for perch material and effect of age. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 253, 105680.
Unlike for laying hens in most European countries, few broiler breeders have access to perches, and there is a need for more knowledge on perching behavior in broiler breeders. The aim of this study was...
Nurmi, H., Laaksonen, S., Häätylä, T. et al. 2022. The impact of clamp castration on the behaviour and body temperature of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) – Effects of local anesthesia and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 255, 105719.
Yearly, 2500–4000 reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) bulls are castrated in Finland, mostly without pain alleviation. No previous research exists concerning pain-related behaviours during castration in reindeer. Our aims were to investigate the effects of Burdizzo...
Alaniz, A. J., Astudillo-Hinojosa, K., Soto, A. F. et al. 2022. Rapid behavioral recovery based on environmental enrichment of a white-throated toucan (Ramphastos tucanus: Ramphastidae) affected by collision trauma. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 57, 1-5.
Captive animals that have experienced traumatic events require a high range of care prior to reintroducing them into their natural habitat; and this care should ensure their welfare in captivity. This report shows the ethological...
Spitzer, H. B., Meagher, R. K., Proudfoot, K. L. 2022. The impact of providing hiding spaces to farmed animals: A scoping review. PLoS ONE 17(11), e0277665.
Many wild animals perform hiding behaviours for a variety of reasons, such as evading predators or other conspecifics. Unlike their wild counterparts, farmed animals often live in relatively barren environments without the opportunity to hide...
Sohel Khan, A., Lea, S. E. G., Chand, P. et al. 2022. Predictors of psychological stress and behavioural diversity among captive red panda in Indian zoos and their implications for global captive management. Scientific Reports 12(1), 14034.
At high elevations, biodiversity is at elevated risk from extinctions due to rapid environmental changes. In the most of its range in Himalayas, the red panda, an endangered species, is struggling to survive in the...
Hempstead, M. N., Shearer, J. K., Sutherland, M. A. et al. 2021. Cautery disbudding iron application time and brain injury in goat kids: A pilot study. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 7, 568750.
Cautery disbudding is a painful procedure performed on goat kids to prevent horn growth that may result in brain injury. Thermal damage to the cerebral cortex of the brain and subsequent neurologic disease is a...
Fischer Meinert, R., Pitlovanciv, A. K., Carvalho Marenzi, R. et al. 2021. Behavioral evaluation of Herpailurus yagouaroundi (É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1803) in response to environmental enrichment. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 24(2), 149-158.
The environment provided for animals in captivity is less complex than its natural habitat, which generates a stressful condition. Environmental enrichment tries to meet the animals’ ethological and psychological needs. This paper aims to evaluate...
Barretta, L. A., Maloney, S. K., Blachea, D. 2021. Pekin ducks are motivated to access their nest site and exhibit a stress-induced hyperthermia when unable to do so. Animal 15(1), 100067.
The origins of floor-laying in ducks could be low motivation for a nest, or stress related to difficulties with accessing a nest (e.g. competition). Using a behavioural demand test, we investigated if increasing the work...
Stevens, A., Doneley, R., Cogny, A. et al. 2021. The effects of environmental enrichment on the behaviour of cockatiels (Nymphicus hollandicus) in aviaries. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 235, 105154.
Most research to enrich the environment of psittacines in captivity has focused on foraging. Little is known about the importance of bathing substrates for enrichment of their environment, despite this being a natural behaviour that...
LaDue, C. A., Schulte, B. A. 2021. Pheromonal enrichment in the zoo: An empirical approach with Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 235, 105228.
The use of odors is a popular form of sensory enrichment, yet few studies have investigated the longer lasting effects of biologically relevant chemical signals like pheromones. Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) are unique because they...
Fernandez, E. J., Upchurch, B., Hawkes, N. C. 2021. Public feeding interactions as enrichment for three zoo-housed elephants. Animals 11(6), 1689.
The past few decades have seen increased interest in studies examining the welfare of elephants and animal–visitor interactions. One understudied area for both pursuits is the impact of public feeding interactions. Our study examined the...

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