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. 
Roberts, D. L., Eskelinen, H. C., Winship, K. A. et al. 2023. Effects of failure on california sea lion (zalophus californianus) gameplay strategies and interest in a cognitive task: Implications for cognitive enrichment in pinnipeds. Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens 4(1), 240–255.

Cognitive enrichment for professionally managed species has become more prevalent in recent years in both zoological and research settings and has been encouraged as a means of welfare enhancement. However, the task’s difficulty must be...

van Zeeland, Y. R. A., Schoemaker, N. J., Lumeij, J. T. 2023. Contrafreeloading indicating the behavioural need to forage in healthy and feather damaging Grey parrots. Animals 13(16), 2635.

Contrafreeloading (CFL) is a concept that describes the preference of an animal to work for food even when identical food is freely available, and reflects an intrinsic motivation to engage in foraging-related activities. However, altered...

Wang, Y., Wei, W., Yuan, F. et al. 2023. The science underlying giant panda conservation translocations. Animals 13(21), 3332.

The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is the flagship species of animal conservation worldwide, and the number of captive pandas reached 673 in 2021. According to the Fourth National Survey Report on the Giant Panda, there...

Zhao, S., Cui, W., Yin, G. et al. 2023. Effects of different auditory environments on behavior, learning ability, and fearfulness in 4-week-old laying hen chicks. Animals 13(19), 3022.

Environmental enrichment can improve animal welfare. As a method of environmental enrichment, the effect of different auditory stimulations on the behavior response and welfare of laying hen chicks has yet to be investigated. Therefore, this...

Aigueperse, N., Boyer, V., Vasseur, E. 2023. How outing conditions relate to the motivation of movement-restricted cattle to access an outdoor exercise yard. Behavioural Processes 213, 104957.

Assessing animal motivation to access a given resource is one method available to evaluate what to provide in the living environments of captive animals. Providing increased opportunities for movement can be seen as an important...

Clark, F. E., Chivers, L., Pearson, O. 2023. Material and food exploration by zoo-housed animals can inform cognition and enrichment apparatus design. Zoo Biology 42(1), 26–37.

To robustly study zoo animal cognition and provide effective enrichment, we must provide animals with carefully designed apparatus made from appropriate (safe, attractive, practical) materials. However, all too often, this design phase is overlooked or...

Crone, C., Caldara, F. R., Martins, R. et al. 2023. Environmental enrichment for pig welfare during transport. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 26(3), 393–403.

This study aimed to assess the effects of environmental enrichment for pigs during transportation in different phases of their productive cycle. Two trials were conducted, the first during transportation of pigs from the piglet production...

Decker, S., Lavery, J. M., Mason, G. J. 2023. Don’t use it? Don’t lose it! Why active use is not required for stimuli, resources or “enrichments” to have welfare value. Zoo Biology 42(4), 467–475.

Current frameworks for designing and evaluating good enclosures and “enrichments” typically focus on animals’ active interactions with these features. This has undoubtedly improved the welfare of zoo-housed animals over the last 30 years or more...

Fazekas, G., Müller, T., Stanivuk, J. et al. 2023. Evaluation of applying environmental enrichment to sterlets (Acipenser ruthenus L.) in early life stages. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 268, 106090.

Traditional aquaculture farming conditions favour the development of maladaptive traits of reared fish. The hatchery releases are a crucial part of the population recovery action in sturgeon species. The manipulation of the environment could be...

Ghavamian, Y., Minier, D. E., Jaffe, K. E. 2023. Effects of complex feeding enrichment on the behavior of captive Malayan sun bears (Helarctos malayanus). Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 26(4), 670–684.

All zoos grapple with challenges of keeping captive animals engaged in natural behaviors, especially for bears which prove to be among the more challenging species to keep stimulated. In captivity, a common indicator of poor...

Greene, L. K., Andriambeloson, J.-B., Blanco, M. B. et al. 2023. Forest access restores foraging and ranging behavior in captive sifakas. Zoo Biology 42(2), 209–222.

Captive wildlife benefit from ecologically informed management strategies that promote natural behaviors. The Duke Lemur Center has pioneered husbandry programs rooted in species’ ecology for a diversity of lemurs, including housing social groups in multiacre...

Kim, J., Lee, J., Kang, K. et al. 2023. Effects of sling belt provision on behaviour, skin lesions, and salivary cortisol level in growing pigs after transport and regrouping. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 269, 106116.

The provision of enrichment material has been widely recommended to mitigate stress and minimise aggressive behaviour as well as enhance the welfare of pigs after transport and regrouping. In this study, we assessed the effects...

Mitin, H., Idrus, Z., Meng, G. Y. et al. 2023. Effects of positive human contact on fear and physiological stress responses in Pekin ducks (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus) subjected to crating and transport. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 269, 106108.

A growing body of research shows that farm animals frequently seek and enjoy human interaction. However, there is a lack of information on how positive human contact affects ducks’ stress and fear responses. An experiment...

Okabe, K., Fukuizumi, H., Kawamura, A. et al. 2023. An investigation of browsing enrichment, especially non-leaf foraging, on giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) at Kyoto City Zoo in Japan. Zoo Biology 42(1), 157–161.

Browsing enrichment may aid in developing species-specific behaviors for giraffes managed in zoos as a means of improving animal welfare. By nature, giraffes are tree-feeding animals, including tree bark, but the extent of food other...

Radical, A., Normando, S., Ponzio, P. et al. 2023. The effects of the addition of two environmental enrichments on the behavior and fecal cortisol levels of three small felids species (Caracal caracal, Leptailurus serval, Leopardus pardalis) in captivity. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 60, 56–64.

Scientific evidences support the fact that environmental enrichment, when effective, can affect the behavior of animals in captivity in a way suggestive of an improvement in their quality of life. In the internationally published literature...

Rørvang, M. V., Schild, S.-L. A., Wallenbeck, A. et al. 2023. Rub ‘n’ roll – Pigs, Sus scrofa domesticus, display rubbing and rolling behaviour when exposed to odours. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 266, 106022.

Pigs are regarded as having a highly developed sense of smell, although scientific information on the topic is sparse. Here, we describe two behaviours unexpectedly observed in a study assessing pigs’ responses to odours and...

Spain, M., Pearson, C., Rosenblatt, A. E. 2023. Social structure and habitat design affect the impact of a novel feeding enrichment for alligators. Zoo Biology 42(3), 383–389.

Providing enrichment that expands the range of behavioral opportunities associated with food acquisition and environmental exploration is an important contributing factor to the well-being of zoo animals. These behaviors can be difficult to promote in...

Trelfa-Stewart, E., Cox, L. 2023. Battle of the enrichments: Comparing the impact of nutritional and sensory enrichment on the behaviour of captive lowland tapirs Tapirus terrestris. Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research 11(3), 336–344.

Environmental enrichment is used to improve the welfare of captive animals by providing increased environmental variety, the provision of choice, and the opportunity to develop competency. The efficacy of a range of environmental enrichment should...

Truax, J., Vonk, J. 2023. Silence is golden: Auditory preferences in zoo-housed gorillas. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 26(3), 404–419.

Enrichment is presented to improve the welfare of captive animals but sound is frequently presented with the assumption that it is enriching without assessing individuals’ preferences. Typically, presented sounds are unnatural and animals are unable...

Tsuchiya, Y., Yayota, M., Kashima, Y. et al. 2023. Nutritional effect of feeding enrichment using bamboo Pleioblastus spp. in zoo-kept Asian elephants Elephas maximus. Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research 11(2), 267–273.

Many zoos use browse and other roughage as feed ingredients and enrichment tools for elephants. Amongst these are bamboo species (e.g. Pleioblastus spp.), which belong to the family of grasses. Bamboo is used in zoos...

Vargas, L. B., Caldara, F. R., Lippi, I. C. de C. et al. 2023. Environmental enrichment strategies for weaned pigs: Welfare and behavior. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 26(2), 205–217.

This research aims to evaluate the effects of different types and strategies of environmental enrichment for weaned pigs on behavior. Forty weaned piglets aged 21 to 28 days were distributed in a completely randomized design...

Wowk, Z. M., Behie, A. M. 2023. The influence of olfactory enrichment on the behavior of two captive New World primates: Black-capped capuchin (Sapajus apella) and common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus). Zoo Biology 42(2), 231–242.

Environmental enrichment is an animal husbandry principle that seeks to provide the stimuli necessary for the optimal physiological and psychological well-being of animals. Due to primates having highly developed visual systems, there have been limited...

Zhao, S., Zhang, R., Li, C. et al. 2023. The effect of short-term classical music stimulus on behavior and tonic immobility reaction of pullets. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 26(3), 386–392.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of short-term stimulation of classical music on the behavior of pullets and to explore whether classical music as an auditory enrichment factor reduces the fear...

Fernandez, E. J. 2022. Training as enrichment: A critical review. Animal Welfare 31(1), 1-12.

Husbandry training and environmental enrichment are both important advancements associated with current behavioural welfare practices. Additionally, the use of training procedures has been proposed as a form of enrichment, with the implication that training can...

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...