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 that include earlier publications) can be filtered by Animal Type, Setting, and Topic. Most publications older than 2010 can only be searched by keyword. 
Crump, A., Jenkins, K., Bethell, E. J. et al. 2024. Pasture access and eye temperature in dairy cows. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 27(2), 234–242.

Pasture access can benefit dairy cows’ behavior, health, and welfare, but herds are increasingly housed indoors full-time. Recent infrared thermal-imaging (thermography) studies suggest that higher eye temperatures may be a physiological indicator of chronic stress...

Cuttance, E. L., Mason, W. A., McDermott, J. et al. 2024. Comparison of three anaesthetic options to reduce acute pain response in kid goats. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 27(3), 465–476.

Three options for anesthetizing the skin around the horn bud of dairy goat kids were explored. Forty-five

Da Luz, M. P. F., Maia, C. M., Puoli Filho, J. N. P. 2024. Equine rolling behavior: Thermoregulation mechanism after exercise and substrate preference. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 27(3), 477–486.

Rolling is a natural behavior of equids that is beneficial to their well-being. However, more intensive domestic environments offer fewer opportunities for animals to roll, neglecting its importance. We believe that the inclusion of recreational...

Damm, J., Aureli, F., Rangel-Negrín, A. et al. 2024. Analytical and biological validation of a noninvasive measurement of glucocorticoid metabolites in feces of Geoffroy’s spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi). American Journal of Primatology 86(4), e23598.

We report on an analytical and biological validation of a commercial cortisol enzyme immunoassay (EIA) to measure glucocorticoids (GC) in feces of Geoffroy’s spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi). Validation of endocrinological methods for each sample matrix...

DePaoli, E., Korver, D., Bench, C. 2024. Effect of pullet rearing environment, strain and perch shape on perching behaviour, perching biomechanics, and keel bone damage in enriched-housed laying hens. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 272, 106187.

Housing, including pullet rearing environment and enrichments, impacts the welfare of laying hens throughout their life. As the egg industry shifts towards alternative housing systems (furnished cages, aviary, free-run, and free range), an increase in...

Douglas, J. M., Paul-Murphy, J., Stelow, E. et al. 2024. Personality characteristics predictive of social pairing outcome in orange-winged Amazon parrots (Amazona amazonica). Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 27(2), 386–407.

Most wild parrot species live in flocks, enriched by the environment and conspecific interactions. Captive parrots often live individually and are prone to behavioral maladaptation. If captive parrots and their behavior become intolerable, they are...

Ehrie, A. J., Iruri-Tucker, A. A., Lord, Y. B. et al. 2024. Measuring mantled howler monkey (Alouatta palliata) testes via parallel laser photogrammetry: Expanding the use of noninvasive methods. American Journal of Primatology 86(6), e23616.

Parallel laser photogrammetry (PLP), which consists of attaching two or three parallel laser beams at a known inter-beam distance to a camera, can be used to collect morphological measurements of organisms noninvasively. The lasers project...

Eliav, A., Ofri, R., Brust, K. et al. 2024. Improving rat welfare through the development of a peribulbar anaesthesia technique for ophthalmic procedures: A preliminary study. Laboratory Animals 58(2), 116–126.

Rats are a commonly used animal model for the study of the pathogenesis and novel treatments of glaucoma, which is induced experimentally using invasive, painful procedures. Peribulbar anaesthesia (PBA) is frequently used in people and...

Ferreira-Duarte, M., Lopes, I. M., Morato, M. et al. 2024. Rats prefer condensed milk to strawberry jam – a new possibility for voluntary oral drug administration. Laboratory Animals 58(2), 160–163.

Voluntary oral drug administration using sweet substances promotes rodents’ therapeutic compliance while reducing stress induced by forced drug administration. We aimed to test whether rats would willingly eat strawberry jam or condensed milk from a...

Fiorilla, E., Ozella, L., Sirri, F. et al. 2024. Effects of housing systems on behaviour and welfare of autochthonous laying hens and a commercial hybrid. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 274, 106247.

The welfare of laying hens is crucial for a sustainable and ethical food industry. Free-range systems offer a more natural and stimulating environment, while dual-purpose autochthonous breeds and crossbreeding could address ethical concerns and improve...

Gatto, E., Lucon-Xiccato, T., Bertolucci, C. 2024. Environmental conditions shape learning in larval zebrafish. Behavioural Processes 218, 105045.

Growing evidence reveals notable phenotypic plasticity in cognition among teleost fishes. One compelling example is the positive impact of enriched environments on learning performance. Most studies on this effect have focused on juvenile or later...

Han, Q., Wang, Y., Yang, Y. et al. 2024. Effects of artificial rearing on behaviour, welfare, and immune function in piglets. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 274, 106267.

With the steady increase in litter sizes, artificial rearing is becoming widely used to raise surplus piglets. The study aimed to evaluate the potential impacts of artificial rearing on behaviour and immune function in piglets...

Hutchinson, A. J., Duffy, B. M., Rego, L. H. et al. 2024. Paper towel shredding as a novel, affordable, noninvasive method for detecting arousals in hibernating rodents. Lab Animal 53(5), 117–120.

Many research groups explore the regulation of hibernation or compare the physiology of heterothermic mammals between the torpid and aroused, euthermic states. Current methods for monitoring torpor (for example, infrared cameras, body temperature or heart-rate...

Jachowski, D. S., Bergeson, S. M., Cotey, S. R. et al. 2024. Non-invasive methods for monitoring weasels: Emerging technologies and priorities for future research. Mammal Review 54(3), 243–260.

Weasels (genus Mustela and Neogale) are of management concern as declining native species in some regions and invasive species in others. Regardless of the need to conserve or remove weasels, there is increasingly a need...

Jastrzębska, E., Wytrążek, K., Earley, B. et al. 2024. Is observation of horses when they are outdoors adequate for detecting individuals with abnormal behaviour? Applied Animal Behaviour Science 272, 106201.

It is reported that outdoor housing of horses reduces stereotypic (SB) and aberrant (AB) behaviour, however, observation of the horse only when outdoors may not preclude it from being stereotypic when in the stable. The...

Lawton, S. B., Grobe, C. C., Reho, J. J. et al. 2024. Differences in fluid, electrolyte, and energy balance in C57BL/6J mice (Mus musculus) in metabolic caging at thermoneutral or standard room temperatures. JAALAS 63(2), 190–200.

The Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals recommends mice be pair or group housed and provided with nesting materials. These provisions support social interactions and are also critical for thermoregulatory behaviors such...

Liu, Q., Radchenko, M., Špinka, M. 2024. Disentangling developmental effects of play aspects in rat rough-and-tumble play. Biology Letters 20(5), 20240037.

Animal play encompasses a variety of aspects, with kinematic and social aspects being particularly prevalent in mammalian play behaviour. While the developmental effects of play have been increasingly documented in recent decades, understanding the specific...

Lum, A. M., Keller, K. A. 2024. Anesthesia and humane euthanasia methods for king worm larvae (Zophobas morio). Zoo Biology 43(2), 164–168.

A growing spotlight on insect welfare as research subjects, fodder for vertebrate animals, and patients for veterinarians highlights the need to establish humane euthanasia methods for these species. An insect of increasing commercial importance is...

Luna, D., Calderón-Amor, J., González, C. et al. 2024. The protective effect of social support: Can humans reassure pigs during stressful challenges through social learning? Applied Animal Behaviour Science 273, 106221.

Farm animals can socially learn to trust a human after observing that human handling a familiar conspecific gently, even if they never positively interacted with the human themselves. This study aimed to evaluate whether pigs...

Macedo-Lima, M., Fernández-Vargas, M., Remage-Healey, L. 2024. Social reinforcement guides operant behaviour and auditory learning in a songbird. Animal Behaviour 210, 127–137.

Motivation to seek social interactions is inherent to all social species. For instance, even with risk of disease transmission in a recent pandemic, humans sought out frequent in-person social interactions. In other social animals, socialization...

Malmkvist, J., Díez-León, M., Christensen, J. W. 2024. Animals with various forms of abnormal behaviour differ in learning performance and use of enrichment: Evidence from farm mink. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 271, 106167.

Abnormal behaviour has been related to differences in cognitive function and reduced animal welfare. However, these associations are understudied, and little is known about how various forms of abnormal behaviour affect learning performance, stress responses...

Meulendijks, R., Weimar, M. M., Kappelhof, J. et al. 2024. Case study: Visual barriers reduce pacing in captive tigers. Zoo Biology 43(2), 199–204.

Captive large felines are prone to abnormal repetitive behaviors like pacing, which are associated with welfare issues. Visual contact without the opportunity to engage in appropriate behavior is known to increase pacing. To better understand...

Nakhwa, A. A., Breakell, V., Chambers, L. et al. 2024. Implications of tactile enrichment on the behaviour and whisker movements of four species of carnivorans. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 274, 106261.

Caniformia include a range of aquatic, semi-aquatic and terrestrial species, which reveal diversity in their whisker arrangements and shape. Whisker movements play a crucial role in the perception of tactile information, allowing whiskered mammals to...

Paskaš, S., Miočinović, J., Savić, M. et al. 2024. Welfare assessment on different-sized dairy goat farms in the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 27(2), 210–222.

This research aimed for the first time to identify the essential welfare problems on 46 goat dairy farms in Vojvodina, based on the goat AWIN welfare protocol. The study showed that space allowance per goat...

Paterson, E. A., O’Malley, C. I., Turner, P. V. 2024. Sleep quality in cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis) varies by housing type and following surgery. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 272, 106188.

Sleep is an important contributor to good physical and mental health and an important component of post-surgical recovery. The assessment of dark phase (‘nighttime’) behavior can provide insight into the efficacy of analgesic treatments and...