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. 
Wikanthi, L. S. S., Forsström, J., Ewaldsson, B. et al. 2024. Improved memory and lower stress levels in male mice co-housed with ovariectomized female mice. Animals 14(10), 1503.

Aggressiveness, expressed by fighting, is a frequent problem in group-housed laboratory male mice and results in increased stress, injury, and death. One way to prevent fighting is by pairing the male mice with ovariectomized female...

Winship, K., McClain, A., Ramos, A. et al. 2024. Health and welfare benefits of computerized cognitive enrichment in California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) at the US Navy Marine Mammal Program. Animals 14(7), 1120.

Cognitive enrichment is becoming more prevalent in professional marine mammal facilities. Research with dolphins has suggested that such enrichment provides more welfare benefits than enrichment that does not incorporate cognitive challenge. However, there is little...

Yang, Y., Lin, H., Huang, X. et al. 2024. Changes in the serum biochemical indices and intestinal microbial community of rabbitfish (Siganus oramin) in three different habitats. Fishes 9(3), 96.

The rabbitfish Siganus oramin is an important naturally caught and aquaculture fish species. Intestinal microbiota can affect the metabolism and immunity of fish, which is closely related to the habitat of the host. In this...

Zhang, J., Hu, R., Chen, L. et al. 2024. Contactless vital signs monitoring in macaques using a mm-wave FMCW radar. Scientific Reports 14(1), 13863.

Heart rate (HR) and respiration rate (RR) play an important role in the study of complex behaviors and their physiological correlations in non-human primates (NHPs). However, collecting HR and RR information is often challenging, involving...

Zhu, J., Shi, W., Zhao, R. et al. 2024. Effects of cold stress on the hemolymph of the Pacific white shrimp Penaeus vannamei. Fishes 9(1), 36.

Temperature is an important factor in the physiological processes of aquatic organisms and can seriously affect several chemical and biological processes in their bodies, including respiratory metabolism, antioxidant capacity, immune capacity, and signal transduction. In...

Plush, K., Lines, D., Staveley, L. et al. 2024. A five domains assessment of sow welfare in a novel free farrowing system. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 11.

The Maternity Ring was developed as a free farrowing alternative to crates that preserved space whilst providing the sow with unrestricted movement. This experiment aimed to apply the Five Domains model to assess sow welfare...

Prims, S., Van Ginneken, C., Van Ostade, X. et al. 2024. Welfare assessment in pigs using the salivary proteome. Animals 14(11), 1703.

Identifying the potential presence of stress at the pig farm is fundamental since it affects pig welfare. As a result, a reliable and straightforward tool to monitor stress could record the welfare status of the...

Rachinas-Lopes, P., Rocha, I. C., Dias, T. et al. 2024. The effects of enrichment on zoo-housed scarlet ibis behavior. Animals 14(13), 1903.

Good zoo animal welfare is commonly promoted with environmental enrichment; however, some species are less likely to be offered enrichment than others. This study tested the effect of enrichment on a group of scarlet ibises...

Ratuski, A. S., Améndola, L., Makowska, I. J. et al. 2024. Effects of temporary access to environmental enrichment on measures of laboratory mouse welfare. Scientific Reports 14(1), 15143.

Laboratory mice are typically housed in “shoebox” cages with limited opportunities to engage in natural behaviour. Temporary access to environments with increased space and complexity (playpens) may improve mouse welfare. Previous work by our group...

Ribeiro, L. R. R., Sans, E. C. de O., Santos, R. M. et al. 2024. Will the white blood cells tell? A potential novel tool to assess broiler chicken welfare. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 11.

This study assessed qualitative and quantitative leukocyte evaluation as potential broiler chicken welfare indicators, contributing to the limited literature on white blood cell (WBC) morphology as a diagnostic tool for welfare. Broiler chicken welfare within...

Saito, M., Matsunaga, M., Fukuizumi, H. et al. 2024. Effects of nocturnal outdoor enclosure access on space use and sleep-related behaviour in captive giraffes. Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research 12(3), 154–162.

Traditional management of large captive animals in zoos involves keeping them outside enclosures during the day and indoors before dark until the next morning. However, the indoor conditions may be uncomfortable for animals especially during...

Sheriff, M., Sonnega, S. 2024. Harnessing the gut microbiome: A potential biomarker for wild animal welfare. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 11.

The welfare of wild animal populations is critically important to conservation, with profound implications for ecosystem health, biodiversity, and zoonotic disease transmission. Animal welfare is typically defined as the accumulated affective mental state of an...

Silver, Z. A., Furlong, E. E., Singer, R. A. 2024. Beyond “far” transfer and “happy” therapy dogs: Comparative psychology gets the facts right. Comparative Cognition & Behavior Reviews 19, 15–19.

Comparative researchers seek to understand nonhuman minds but must also consider how our research supports animal welfare. We propose two distinct pathways to accomplish this: (a) correcting misconceptions about dog training by making our work...

Smith-Langridge, R. 2024, April. Comparing the use of enrichment items by cattle in a high containment facility. Animal Technology and Welfare 23(1), 41–43.

Interacting with environmental enrichment can reduce morbidity, agression and stereotypic behaviours improving both animal welfare and scientific data output. High containment facilities are limited on space, do not have natural scenery, the cattle are kept...

Song, D.-C., Lee, J.-H., Yun, W. et al. 2024. Effects of stocking density and illuminance in lairage of fattening pigs in different temperatures. Animals 14(15), 2145.

This study investigated the effects of lairage conditions on the welfare and meat quality of pigs during lairage periods. A total of 3070 finishing pigs were assigned to one of six groups arranged in two...

Song, J. A., Park, H.-S., Jung, Y.-H. et al. 2024. Effects of various photoperiods and specific wavelengths on retinal changes and oxidative stress in the conch Tegula rustica. Fishes 9(6), 226.

To improve aquaculture practices and husbandry of a variety of gastropods, including small conch species, it is necessary to study the physiological and endocrinological responses of nocturnal conches to light exposure. In this study, we...

Suriya-Arunroj, L., Chimngam, M., Chamnongpakdee, C. et al. 2024. Behavioral training in first-generation long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) for improved husbandry and veterinary procedures. Animals 14(16), 2369.

Owing to their similarities to humans in various aspects, non-human primates (NHPs) serve as valuable translational models that has greatly contributed to scientific advancements. However, working with untrained NHPs can cause stress and increase the...

Swan, M., Horvath, A., Pritchett, R. K. et al. 2024. The future is not bright: Evaluation of rat preferences for color and intensity of light. Animals 14(14), 2045.

Light is a key factor influencing the welfare of laboratory rodents, but little is known about their optimal lighting condition. It i common knowledge that rats prefer dim light, so bright light is mitigated with...

Vine, A. J., Hammond, A., Abernethy Palmer, G. et al. 2024. Whole versus chopped food: The bintu-right way to do it? Discover Animals 1(1), 18.

It remains common practice for zoos to chop animal diets into small pieces, even though there is limited evidence to support this practice. It is important that the purported benefits of chopping food are investigated...

Waghorn, N. 2024, April. Exploring enrichment enjoyed by Zebrafish. Animal Technology and Welfare 23(1), 64–65.

Many studies highlighted that gravel is a preferred enrichment of zebrafish, therefore we were keen to explore this anecdotal evidence further, to ascertain if the spatial distribution of the zebrafish was significantly linked to the...

Wardrop, E. 2024, April. Refinements to goat housing for ADME collections. Animal Technology and Welfare 23(1), 66–67.

Typically, ADME studies are conducted using metabolism cages designed for the single housing of animals to enable the quantitative collection of urine and faeces, normally over a 1 to 2 week period. It is well...

Yuan, B., Fu, Q., Wang, X.-Y. et al. 2024. Effects of social group housing on the behavioral and physiological responses of captive sub-adult giant pandas. Animals 14(17), 2545.

Wild giant pandas are inherently solitary creatures, however, the ex-situ conservation efforts significantly alter the living circumstances of their captive counterparts. Following the breeding period, giant pandas in captivity may be maintained in social groups...

Zapata Cardona, J., Duque Arias, S., David Jaramillo, E. et al. 2024. Effects of a veterinary functional music-based enrichment program on the psychophysiological responses of farm pigs. Scientific Reports 14(1), 18660.

Intensification of swine production can predispose pigs to chronic stress, with adverse effects on the neuroendocrine and immune systems that can lead to health problems, poor welfare, and reduced production performance. Consequently, there is an...

Chang, T.-K., Wang, C.-H., Lin, T.-Y. et al. 2024. Effects of intermittent harem mating on parturition-induced stress and success rate of weaning in C57BL/6JNarl mice. JAALAS 63(5), 488–494.

Improving the effectiveness of mating schemes for large-scale production of mice is an ongoing challenge in animal facilities. Continuous mating, which requires fewer breeding cages than intermittent mating, has traditionally been used to take advantage...

Chiang, A., Haine, S. S. S., Goldring, R. et al. 2024. Comprehensive husbandry protocol for Corydoras catfish and many other Amazonian species. JAALAS 63(5), 472–479.

A variety of fish species have proven instrumental in the investigation of evolution, behavior, ecology, and physiology, among many other fields. Many model systems (e.g., zebrafish, guppies, and three-spined sticklebacks) have been maintained by institutions...