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. 
Lemos de Figueiredo, R., Hartley, M., Fletcher, A. W. 2021. Assessing the behaviour, welfare and husbandry of mouse deer (Tragulus spp.) in European zoos. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 237, 105283.

Mouse deer are primitive, forest ungulates found in Asia and Africa. Both the lesser mouse deer (Tragulus javanicus) and the Philippine mouse deer (T. nigricans) are managed in European zoos, but inconsistent breeding success between...

FELASA Working Group on Farm Animals: Berset, C. M., Caristo, M. E., Ferrara, F. et al. 2021. Federation of European Laboratory Animal Science Associations recommendations of best practices for the health management of ruminants and pigs used for scientific and educational purposes. Laboratory Animals 55(2), 117-128.

Most ruminants and pigs used for scientific and educational aims are bred not for these purposes but in a farm environment. Given the wide range of diseases that these species might have, ensuring that the...

Schmidt, T., Ferrara, F., Pobloth, A.-M. et al. 2021. Large farm animals used for research purposes: A survey on purchase, housing and hygiene management. Animals 11(8), 2158.

Background: Farm animals (FAs) are frequently used in biomedical research. Recommendations for the purchase, housing and health monitoring of these animals (sheep, goats, cattle and pigs) are still missing, and many institutes have developed their...

Falendysz, E. A., Calhoun, D. M., Smith, C. A. et al. 2020. Outside the box: Working with wildlife in biocontainment. ILAR Journal 61(1), 72-85.

Research with captive wildlife in Animal Biosafety Level 2 (ABSL2) and 3 (ABSL3) facilities is becoming increasingly necessary as emerging and re-emerging diseases involving wildlife have increasing impacts on human, animal, and environmental health. Utilizing...

Thatcher, D. 2021. The use of a borescope for Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo (Dendrolagus goodfellowi) husbandry. RATEL (Journal of the Association of British and Irish Wild Animal Keepers) 48(2), 10-11.

In 2017 Bristol Zoological Gardens received two Goodfellow tree kangaroos. As this was a new marsupial species for the collection, keepers attended the European Symposium on tree kangaroos to better improve our husbandry, knowledge and...

Brox, B. W., Edwards, K., Buist, N. A. et al. 2021. Investigating food preference in zoo-housed meerkats. Zoo Biology 40(6), 517-526.

Understanding food preference among animals in human care can support improvements to welfare through training and day-to-day care (e.g., diet management). Little has been published about food preference in zoo-housed meerkats. Assessing meerkat food preference...

Costantino, A., Fabrizio, E., Calvet, S. 2021. The role of climate control in monogastric animal farming: The effects on animal welfare, air emissions, productivity, health, and energy use. Applied Sciences 11(20), 9549.

In the last decades, an engineering process has deeply transformed livestock houses by introducing fine-tuned climate control systems to guarantee adequate indoor climate conditions needed to express the maximum genetic potential of animals and to...

Vittis, Y., Kaler, J. 2020. Environmental and field characteristics associated with lameness in sheep: A study using a smartphone lameness app for data recording. Veterinary Record 186(12), 384.

Sheep lameness is a major concern among farmers and policymakers with significant impacts on animal welfare standards as well as financial and production performance. The present study attempts to identify the relative importance of environmental...

Piirsalu, P., Kaart, T., Nutt, I. et al. 2020. The effect of climate parameters on sheep preferences for outdoors or indoors at low ambient temperatures. Animals 10(6), 1029.

Threshold temperatures for cold stress in sheep are not well understood, the available literature is somewhat dated and reports relate to winter temperatures that are relatively benign. Sheep’s preferences for outdoor versus indoor environments, when...

Mondragón-Ancelmo, J., García Hernández, P., Rojo Rubio, R. et al. 2020. Small flocks show higher levels of welfare in Mexican semi-intensive sheep farming systems. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 23(3), 348-355.

In order to assess the level of sheep welfare in small traditional farms as compared with farms of increased size we evaluated several animal-based parameters and applied a modified Animal Needs Index (ANI) protocol in...

De, K., Sharma, S., Kumar Kumawat, P. et al. 2020. Provision of desert cooler in shed of ewes during summer in hot semi-arid region. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 37, 76-80.

In hot arid and semi-arid regions, heat stress is a major constraint in animal production due to prolonged summers with high temperatures. In dairy husbandry, the desert cooler and evaporative cooling system are effectively used...

Beck, M. R., Gregorini, P. 2020. How dietary diversity enhances hedonic and eudaimonic well-being in grazing ruminants. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 7, 191.

Ruminants evolved in diverse landscapes of which they utilized, by choice, a diverse arrangement of plants (grasses, forbs, and trees) for food. These plants provide them with both primary (carbohydrates, protein, etc.) and secondary (phenolics...

Burger, A. L., Hartig, J., Dierkes, P. W. 2020. Shedding light into the dark: Age and light shape nocturnal activity and sleep behaviour of giraffe. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 229, 105012.

The interaction of internal clocks and environmental conditions determines the daily behavioural rhythm of an animal. Due to the strong influence of light, these circadian rhythms oscillate in mammals over a cycle length of about...

Przybyło, M., Kazek, S., Kloska, A. et al. 2020. Preference of intake of different tree leaves preserved with drying and ensiling by nyala antelope (Tragelaphus angasii). Zoo Biology 39(6), 436-442.

It is recommended that browse should be an important part of diets for browsing and intermediate feeding type ruminants. However, provision of browse in winter time is problematic for many zoos located in the temperate...

Fanning, L., Larsen, H., Taylor, P. S. 2020. A preliminary study investigating the impact of musical concerts on the behavior of captive Fiordland penguins (Eudyptes pachyrhynchus) and collared peccaries (Pecari tajacu). Animals 10(11), 2035.

Captive animal welfare is important for establishments that exhibit species for education, conservation, and research. However, captive animals are often exposed to a number of potential stressors, such as visitors and anthropogenic noise. We aimed...

Wark, J. D., Wierzal, N. K., Cronin, K. A. 2020. Mapping shade availability and use in zoo environments: A tool for evaluating thermal comfort. Animals 10(7), 1189.

For many species in zoos, particularly megafauna vulnerable to heat stress, shade is a key environmental resource. However, shade availability has received comparatively less attention than other aspects of the zoo environment. In this study...

Sadeghi, M.-H., Sari, M., Mohammadabadi, T. et al. 2019. Effect of a short-term training on intake of Halocnemum strobilaceum forage by sheep. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 213, 74-80.

Halocnemum strobilaceum (Chenopodiaceae) is a halophyte plant that can produce relatively high consumable biomass during drought and it is important for sustaining grazing animals when other plants are rare. Previous studies indicate that sheep may...

Jakob-Hoff, R., Kingan, M., Fenemore, C. et al. 2019. Potential impact of construction noise on selected zoo animals. Animals 9(8), 504.

In anticipation of a major construction project in an urban New Zealand zoo, a study was initiated to assess the response to construction noise of selected animal species (elephant, giraffe, emu and alligator) previously observed...

De, K., Kumar, D., Mohapatra, A. et al. 2019. Effect of bedding for reducing the postshearing stress in sheep. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 33, 27-30.

Shearing of sheep is routine management. However, the shearing induces stress in the animal. To reduce the postshearing stress, providing bedding may be an effective method. Therefore, the present study was initiated to assess the...

Cox, R. J., Nol, P., Ellis, C. K. et al. 2019. Research with agricultural animals and wildlife. ILAR Journal 60(1), 66-73.

In fiscal year 2016, agricultural animals such as swine, sheep, goats, and cattle represented 10% of the 820 812 animals used in USDA-regulated research. In addition to traditional agricultural animals, research studies using captive wildlife...

Angell, J. W., Grove-White, D. H., Duncan, J. S. 2018. Sheep and farm level factors associated with footrot: A longitudinal repeated cross-sectional study of sheep on six farms in the UK. Veterinary Record 182(10), 293.

Footrot is an ovine foot disease of infectious origin and a cause of serious welfare and economic compromise in affected animals and flocks. The development of footrot in sheep is associated with the infectious agent...

Douglas, F., Sargison, N. D. 2018. Husbandry procedures at the point of lambing with reference to perinatal lamb mortality. Veterinary Record 182(2), 52.

Any management practices which ensure correct nutrition of pregnant ewes, avoidance of dystocia, provision of energy and protective antibodies through colostrum, and a strong maternal bond will enhance the perinatal lamb survival rate.2 However, the...

Bacon, H. 2018. Behaviour-based husbandry—A holistic approach to the management of abnormal repetitive behaviors. Animals 8(7), 103.

The field of zoo animal welfare science has developed significantly over recent years. However despite this progress in terms of scientific research, globally, zoo animals still face many welfare challenges. Recently, animal welfare frameworks such...

Damián, J. P., Hötzel, M. J., Banchero, G. et al. 2018. Growing without a mother during rearing affects the response to stressors in rams. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 209, 36-40.

Early maternal care contributes to the normal development of the physiological, social and emotional functions of the offspring. As sheep are a strongly gregarious species, separation and isolation of an individual from the flock provokes...

Freling, S. 2018. Learning about tree shrews. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 5(4) (December), 14-17.

This article describes the natural behaviors of tree shrews and how to accommodate for their care and welfare in a laboratory, including information on infant rearing and diet, caging, environmental enrichment, and mitigation of stressors.