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. 
Ko, H., Chong, Q., Escribano, D. et al. 2020. Pre-weaning socialization and environmental enrichment affect life-long response to regrouping in commercially-reared pigs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 229, 105044.

Weaning and other regrouping events as routine work in commercial farms cause stress to pigs and compromise their welfare. Several studies found positive outcomes to mitigate weaning stress when piglets were socialized (i.e. co-mingled) or...

Munari, C., Ponzio, P., Macchi, E. et al. 2020. A multifactorial evaluation of different reproductive rhythms and housing systems for improving welfare in rabbit does. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 230, 105047.

The most widespread reproductive rhythm practiced in rabbit farming is based on artificial insemination (AI) performed at around 11 days pospartum. This approach results in high production rates, but requires high yearly replacement of animals...

Telkanranta, H., Valros, A. 2020. Pigs with but not without access to pieces of recently harvested wood show reduced pen-mate manipulation after a provision of feed and straw. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 232, 105103.

In barren environments of commercial farms, pig often redirect their rooting and chewing behaviours at other pigs, which can lead to tail biting. When materials such as straw are provided, the quantity is usually too...

Theil, J. H., Ahloy-Dallaire, J., Weber, E. M. et al. 2020. The epidemiology of fighting in group-housed laboratory mice. Scientific Reports 10(1), 16649.

Injurious home-cage aggression (fighting) in mice affects both animal welfare and scientific validity. It is arguably the most common potentially preventable morbidity in mouse facilities. Existing literature on mouse aggression almost exclusively examines territorial aggression...

Tomasello, D. L., Sive, H. 2020. Noninvasive multielectrode array for brain and spinal cord local field potential recordings from live zebrafish larvae. Zebrafish 17(4), 271-277.

Zebrafish are an important and expanding experimental system for brain research. We describe a noninvasive electrophysiology technique that can be used in living larvae to measure spontaneous activity in the brain and spinal cord simultaneously...

van der Vinne, V., Pothecary, C. A., Wilcox, S. L. et al. 2020. Continuous and non-invasive thermography of mouse skin accurately describes core body temperature patterns, but not absolute core temperature. Scientific Reports 10(1), 20680.

Body temperature is an important physiological parameter in many studies of laboratory mice. Continuous assessment of body temperature has traditionally required surgical implantation of a telemeter, but this invasive procedure adversely impacts animal welfare. Near-infrared...

Wilder, T., Krieter, J., Kemper, N. et al. 2020. Tail-directed behaviour in pigs – relation to tail posture and tail lesion. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 233, 105151.

Tail-biting in pigs affects the health and welfare of the animals. Different indicators, such as the tail posture, can be used to detect tail-biting at an early stage. The aim of this study was to...

Camerlink, I., Chou, J.-Y., Turner, S. P. 2020. Intra-group lethal gang aggression in domestic pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus). Animals 10(8), 1287.

Intraspecific coalitional aggression is rare among all species, especially within stable social groups. We report here numerous cases of intraspecific lethal gang aggression within stable groups of domestic pigs. The objective was to describe this...

Chou, J.-Y., Sandercock, D. A., D'Eath, R. B. et al. 2020. A High Enrichment replenishment rate reduces damaging behaviors and increases growth rate in undocked pigs kept in fully slatted pens. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 7, 584706.

One of the difficulties in complying with the prohibition of routine tail docking is a lack of effective alternative solutions to prevent tail biting, especially in fully slatted systems. This study compared three slat-compatible enrichment...

Jung, L., Brenninkmeyer, C., Niebuhr, K. et al. 2020. Husbandry conditions and welfare outcomes in organic egg production in eight European countries. Animals 10(11), 2102.

In the European research project HealthyHens, welfare indicators as well as husbandry and management conditions were recorded in 107 organic laying hen farms in eight countries. Farms were visited at peak and end of lay...

Ordóñez-Grande, B., Guerreiro, P. M., Sanahuja, I. et al. 2020. Evaluation of an acute osmotic stress in European sea bass via skin mucus biomarkers. Animals 10(9), 1546.

European sea bass is a marine teleost which can inhabit a broad range of environmental salinities. So far, no research has studied the physiological response of this fish to salinity challenges using modifications in skin...

McFarland, R., Barrett, L., Fuller, A. et al. 2020. Infrared thermography cannot be used to approximate core body temperature in wild primates. American Journal of Primatology 82, e23204.

Understanding the physiological processes that underpin primate performance is key if we are to assess how a primate might respond when navigating new and changing environments. Given the connection between a mammal's ability to thermoregulate...

Schreiter, R., Damme, K., Freick, M. 2020. Edible environmental enrichments in littered housing systems: Do their effects on integument condition differ between commercial laying hen strains? Animals 10(12), 2434.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of additional enrichment materials (EMs; pecking stones and alfalfa bales) on the occurrence of plumage damage, skin injuries, and toe injuries, with an emphasis on...

Elmi, A., Galligioni, V., Govoni, N. et al. 2020. Quantification of hair corticosterone, DHEA and testosterone as a potential tool for welfare assessment in male laboratory mice. Animals 10(12), 2408.

Steroids, providing information regarding several biological patterns including stress and sexual behavior, have been investigated in different matrices in laboratory mice. Data regarding hair quantification, indicative of longer timespans when compared to blood and saliva...

Kloefkorn H, Aiani, L. M., Lakhani, A. et al. 2020. Noninvasive three-state sleep-wake staging in mice using electric field sensors. Journal of Neuroscience Methods 344, 108834.

Study Objective: Validate a novel method for sleep-wake staging in mice using noninvasive electric field (EF) sensors. Methods: Mice were implanted with electroencephalogram (EEG) and electromyogram (EMG) electrodes and housed individually. Noninvasive EF sensors were...

Eyer, A. E., Miller, L. J. 2020. Evaluating the influence of conspecifics on a male giant anteater’s (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) pacing behavior. Animal Behavior and Cognition 7(4), 556–566.

Stereotypic behavior has been studied in various species, but little information exists on stereotypies in giant anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) under professional care. Giant anteaters are known for their solitary nature and well-developed sense of smell...

Serres, A., Robeck, T., Deng, X. et al. 2020. Social, reproductive and contextual influences on fecal glucocorticoid metabolites in captive Yangtze finless porpoises (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis asiaeorientalis) and bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens 1(1), 24–41.

Although the use of fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGCM) measurements as non-invasive biomarkers for the stress response in mammals has increased, few studies have been conducted in odontocetes. We investigated if animal sex, age, pregnancy or...

X. Hui, Kan, E. C. 2019. No-touch measurements of vital signs in small conscious animals. Science Advances 5, eaau0169.

Measuring the heartbeat and respiration of small conscious animals is important for assessing their health and behavior, but present techniques such as electrocardiogram (ECG), ultrasound, and auscultation rely on close skin contact with the animal...

Nagy-Reis, M. B., Mendonça-Furtado, O., Resende, B. 2019. Do social factors related to allostatic load affect stereotypy susceptibility? Management implications for captive social animals. Animal Welfare 28(2), 183-190.

Stereotypies are frequently associated with sub-optimal captive environments and are used as welfare indicators. However, susceptibility to stereotypy can vary across individuals of the same group. As such, identifying which individuals are more susceptible to...

Chou, J.-Y., Drique, C. M. V., Sandercock, D. A. et al. 2019. Rearing undocked pigs on fully slatted floors using multiple types and variations of enrichment. Animals 9(4), 139.

In fully slatted systems, tail biting is difficult to manage when pigs’ tails are not docked because loose enrichment material can obstruct slurry systems. This pilot study sought to determine: a) whether intact-tailed pigs can...

Decina, C., Berke, O., van Staaveren, N. et al. 2019. An investigation of associations between management and feather damage in Canadian laying hens housed in furnished cages. Animals 9(4), 135.

Feather pecking is a continuous welfare challenge in the housing of egg-laying hens. Canada is currently making the transition from conventional cages to alternative housing systems. However, feather damage (FD) among laying hens due to...

Silber, S., Joshi, S., Pillay, N. 2019. Behavioural syndromes in stereotypic striped mice. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 212, 74-81.

Stereotypical behaviours (SBs) are abnormal, repetitive behaviours often observed in captivity. SBs are linked to impoverished captive conditions, and stereotypic individuals show a particular set of behaviours (e.g. bolder personality, greater activity) indicating proactive coping...

Murphy, A. M., Ross, C. N., Bliss‐Moreau, E. 2019. Noninvasive cardiac psychophysiology as a tool for translational science with marmosets. American Journal of Primatology 81(9), e23037.

The importance of marmosets for comparative and translational science has grown in recent years because of their relatively rapid development, birth cohorts of twins, family social structure, and genetic tractability. Despite this, they remain understudied...

Pelant Lahrmann, H., Faustrup, J. F., Hansen, C. F. et al. 2019. The effect of straw, rope, and bite-rite treatment in weaner pens with a tail biting outbreak. Animals 9(6), 365.

Tail biting in pigs is an injurious behaviour that spreads rapidly in a group. We investigated three different treatments to stop ongoing tail biting outbreaks in 65 pens of 6–30 kg undocked pigs (30 pigs...

Barreiro-Vázquez, J. D., Miranda, M., Barreiro-Vilanova, M. I. et al. 2019. Characterization of the normal portal and hepatic blood flow of adult Holstein-Friesian cows. Animals 9(6), 386.

Knowledge of physiological portal and hepatic blood flow in cattle is essential for the use of Doppler ultrasound for diagnostic purposes. In this paper, we describe a protocol for the systematic ultrasonography evaluation of the...