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. 
Glencorse, D., Plush, K., Hazel, S. et al. 2019. Impact of non-confinement accommodation on farrowing performance: A systematic review and meta-analysis of farrowing crates versus pens. Animals 9(11), 957.

There are conflicting reports regarding the effect of farrowing house accommodation on piglet performance. The aim of this investigation was to use a systematic review and meta-analyses to summarise the results of publications that focused...

Nowland, T. L., van Wettere, W. H. E. J., Plush, K. J. Allowing sows to farrow unconfined has positive implications for sow and piglet welfare. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 221, 104872.

To reduce piglet mortality from overlay, farrowing crates confine the sow, restricting nest building activities. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of confinement in the lead up to and during parturition...

Duckett, L., Phelon, L., Wheeler, L. 2018.Three little pigs! straw, sticks and bricks: ‘I’ll blow your house down’. Animal Technology and Welfare 17(3), 201-203 (IAT Congress 2018 Poster Presentation).

In order for a scientific project involving animals to run smoothly, it is essential that the Animal Technologists have a good understanding of both the animals they are dealing with and of the project itself...

Musk, G. C., Kershaw, H., He, B. 2019. Multiple refinements to the anaesthetic protocol for laparoscopic orthotopic kidney auto-transplantation in a pig model. Laboratory Animals 53(1), 72–78.

Fifty-four pigs (Sus scrofa, Large White cross) from a commercial pig farm were anaesthetised over a six-year period from October 2011. The procedural stages included initial instrumentation for intra-operative monitoring, laparoscopic nephrectomy, preparation of the...

Kallio, P. A, Janczak, A. M., Valros, A. E. et al. 2018. Case control study on environmental, nutritional and management-based risk factors for tail-biting in long-tailed pigs. Animal Welfare 27(1), 21-34.

A case control study with a questionnaire was carried out to compare feeding practices, diet composition, housing and management in 78 herds with or without a history of tail-biting in undocked pigs (Sus scrofa) in...

Fels, M., Lüthje, F., Faux-Nightingale, A. et al. 2018. Use of space and behavior of weaned piglets kept in enriched two-level housing system. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 21(3), 267-282.

In this study, the possibility of introducing an elevated platform to a piglet pen was explored as a way of increasing available space and creating functional areas. On the platform, nine different manipulable materials were...

King, R. L., Baxter, E. M., Matheson, S. M. et al. 2018. Sow free farrowing behaviour: Experiential, seasonal and individual variation. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 208, 14-21.

Although sow confinement at farrowing is inherently stressful, farrowing crates remain in widespread commercial use. Sows adapt to their environment, however adaptation may be counter-productive if the farrowing system changes. The current study observed the...

Schild, S.-L. A., Rangstrup-Christensen, L., Bonde, M. et al. 2018. The use of a shaded area during farrowing and lactation in sows kept outdoors. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 209, 22-29.

The hut temperature in outdoor pig production during summer can exceed the upper critical temperature of lactating sows. Therefore, sows may experience hyperthermia, a condition which has several adverse consequences for the welfare of both...

Edwards, G. L., Michael, J. A., Parks., A. 2018. Agricultural animals as biomedical models: Occupational health and safety considerations. ILAR Journal 59(2), 161-167.

The use of agricultural animals in biomedical research is increasing. Their overall size and metabolic rate, organ size, longer gestation period, and other physiological similarities make them good candidates for animal models of human disease...

Nordquist, R., van der Staay, F., van Eerdenburg, F. et al. 2017. Mutilating procedures, management practices, and housing conditions that may affect the welfare of farm animals: Implications for welfare research. Animals 7(2), 12.

A number of mutilating procedures, such as dehorning in cattle and goats and beak trimming in laying hens, are common in farm animal husbandry systems in an attempt to prevent or solve problems, such as...

Chatigny, F., Kamunde, C., Creighton, C. M. et al. 2017. Uses and doses of local anesthetics in fish, amphibians, and reptiles. JAALAS 56(3), 244-253.

Local anesthetics are an integral part of routine pain management in mammals, yet their use is relatively limited in fish, amphibians and reptiles. These animals frequently undergo potentially painful surgical procedures and therefore could possibly...

Bulens, A., Van Beirendonck, S., Van Thielen, J. et al. 2017. Hiding walls for fattening pigs: Do they affect behavior and performance? Applied Animal Behaviour Science 195, 32-37.

The prevalence of harmful and unwanted behavior in fattening pigs is influenced by different factors including housing. Housing may include the opportunity to hide from aggressive pen mates and this ability is related to pen...

Sutherland, M. A., Backus, B. L., Brooks, T. A. 2017. The effect of needle-free administration of local anesthetic on the behavior and physiology of castrated pigs. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 21, 71-76.

Pigs are routinely castrated in many countries without giving pain relief, which is an animal welfare concern. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the stress caused by administering local anesthetic (LA) using a...

van Nieuwamerongen, S. E., Mendl, M., Held, S. et al. 2017. Post-weaning social and cognitive performance of piglets raised pre-weaning either in a complex multi-suckling group housing system or in a conventional system with a crated sow. Animal Cognition 20(5), 907–921.

We studied the social and cognitive performance of piglets raised pre-weaning either in a conventional system with a sow in a farrowing crate (FC) or in a multi-suckling (MS) system in which 5 sows and...

Carreras, R., Mainau, E., Arroyo, L. et al. 2016. Housing conditions do not alter cognitive bias but affect serum cortisol, qualitative behaviour assessment and wounds on the carcass in pigs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 185, 39-44.

Measures of animal emotions are essential to assess animal welfare. Recently, the cognitive bias technique has been proposed as a measure of animal affective state. This technique is based on the premise that subjects in...

Hales, J., Moustsen, V. A., Nielsen, M.B.F. et al. 2016. The effect of temporary confinement of hyperprolific sows in Sow Welfare and Piglet protection pens on sow behaviour and salivary cortisol concentrations. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 183, 19-27.

The aim of this study was to investigate effects of confinement in Sow Welfare and Piglet protection pens (SWAP pen) for four days after farrowing on sow behaviour and salivary cortisol levels. Sows were randomly...

Martin, J. E., Ison, S. H., Baxter, E. M. 2015. The influence of neonatal environment on piglet play behaviour and post-weaning social and cognitive development. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 163, 69-79.

Research has shown that the domestic pig is highly playful throughout its development and that play is an important aspect of social and cognitive development. Therefore, the neonatal environment is fundamental to successful stimulation of...

Verdon, M., Hansen, C. F., Rault, J. L. et al. 2015. Effects of group housing on sow welfare: a review. Journal of Animal Science 93(5), 1999-2017.

Factors that have been shown to impact the welfare of group-housed sows are discussed in this review. Floor space allowance markedly affects sow welfare. In addition to quantity of floor space, the quality of space...

Andersen, I. L., Vasdal, G., Pedersen, L. J. 2014. Nest building and posture changes and activity budgets of gilts housed in pens and crates. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 159, 29-33.

The aim of the present work was to study nest building, posture changes and the overall activity budget of gilts in pens vs. crates. Twenty-three HB gilts (high piglet survival day 5) and 21 LB...

Mack, L. A., Lay, D. C., Eicher, S. D. et al. 2014. Group space allowance has little effect on sow health, productivity, or welfare in a free-access stall system. Journal of Animal Science 92(6), 2554-2567.

Free-access stalls allow sows to choose the protection of a stall or use of a shared group space. This study investigated the effect of group space width, 0.91 (SS), 2.13 (IS), and 3.05 (LS) m...

Reinhardt, V. (ed.) 2013. Compassion Makes a Difference - Discussions by the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum [LAREF], Volume III. Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, DC.

This is the third volume of discussions that took place on the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum (LAREF). This forum is dedicated to the exchange of personal experiences of refining the conditions under which...

Baumann, S., Pflanz, W., Gallmann, E. et al. 2013. The effect of rubber mats on preference and lying behaviour of group housed sows. Landtechnik 68(6), 385-388.

This study analyses the preferences, as well as the lying behaviour, of sows with various types of mat in a group housing system lying area. The sows in the trial could choose between six bays...

Rioja-Lang, F. C., Hayne, S. M., Gonyou, H. W. 2013. The effect of pen design on free space utilization of sows group housed in gestation pens equipped with free access stalls. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 148(1-2), 93-98.

This study investigated the implementation of walk-in/lock-in stalls (free access stalls) for group housed sows. The objectives were to compare two different pen configurations (‘I-pen’ vs. ‘T-pen’) by determining the proportion and type (size/parity) of...

Spoolder, H. A. M., Aarnink, A. A. J., Vermeer, H. M. 2012. Effect of increasing temperature on space requirements of group housed finishing pigs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 138(3-4), 229-239.

For groups of pigs to cope adequately with their housing conditions they need sufficient static space (occupied by the body of the pig), activity space (for movement between different functional areas and behaviours relating to...

Toenepoehl, B., Appel, A. K., Welp, S. et al. 2012. Effect of marginal environmental and social enrichment during rearing on pigs' reactions to novelty, conspecifics and handling. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 140(3-4), 137-145.

The rearing environment of farmed animals can affect their behaviour when handled, and therefore needs to be taken into account when selecting for traits such as docility. Therefore, 126 German Landrace and Pietrain × German...