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. 
Gill, M. 2019. The Monkey Business and the UK: To what extent does EU and UK legislation protect long-tailed macaques bred in overseas farms but used for experiments in the UK. Canopy 20(1), 29-34.

Every year around 3,000 long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) are imported into the UK to satisfy the needs of pharmaceutical contract research organisations (CROs). CITES, and many NGOs suggest that the demand for macaques used globally...

Colby, L. A., Nowland, M. H., Kennedy, L. H. 2019. Clinical Laboratory Animal Medicine: An Introduction (5th ed). Wiley-Blackwell, Ames, IA.

The revised fifth edition of Clinical Laboratory Animal Medicine: An Introduction is an accessible guide to basic information for conducting animal research safely and responsibly. It includes a review of the unique anatomic and physiologic...

McMillan, F. D. (ed). 2019. Mental Health and Well-being in Animals (2nd ed). CABI, Wallingford, UK.

This second edition is fully revised, expanded, and comprehensively updated with the most current knowledge about the full array of mental health issues seen in animals. Written by key opinion leaders, internationally-recognized experts and specialists...

Schiffmann, C., Clauss, M. 2019. Impact of a new exhibit on stereotypic behavior in an elderly captive African elephant. Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research 7(1), 37-43.

Stereotypic behavior in zoo elephants is considered an indicator of impaired welfare. The underlying causes are diverse and many aspects are still unexplored. Nevertheless, many zoological institutions take huge efforts to improve the well-being of...

Gomes, D., McSweeney, L., Santos, M. 2019. Effects of environmental enrichment techniques on stereotypical behaviours of captive Sumatran tigers: A preliminary case study. Journal of Animal Behaviour and Biometeorology 7(4), 144-148.

Wild animals are maintained in Zoological facilities for purposes of education, conservation, research, and recreation. Several studies have proven that the surroundings of an animal's artificial habitat, as well as environmental enrichment techniques, are factors...

Briefer Freymond, S., Ruet, A., Grivaz, M. et al. 2019. Stereotypic horses (Equus caballus) are not cognitively impaired. Animal Cognition 22(1), 17–33.

Stereotypies in animals are thought to arise from an interaction between genetic predisposition and sub-optimal housing conditions. In domestic horses, a well-studied stereotypy is crib-biting, an abnormal behaviour that appears to help individuals to cope...

Carter, E. 2018. Updated Code of Practice for the welfare of meat chickens and meat breeding chickens in England. Animal Welfare 27(2), 181-185.

Much of the content in the 2018 Code is similar to that found in previous guidance documents: the 2002 Code of Practice for the Welfare of Meat Chickens and Meat Breeding Chickens, and the 2011...

Leeds, A., Lukas, K. E. 2018. Experimentally evaluating the function of self-directed behaviour in two adult mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx). Animal Welfare 27(1), 81-86.

Given the difficulties of conducting regular endocrine and veterinary assessments of animals, behavioural observations are often the most commonly used tool to assess the welfare of animals in human care. Behavioural measures, inexpensive and convenient...

Polanco, A., Díez-León, M., Mason G. 2018. Stereotypic behaviours are heterogeneous in their triggers and treatments in the American mink, Neovison vison, a model carnivore. Animal Behaviour 141, 105-114.

Stereotypic behaviours (SBs) are common in confined animals including captive Carnivora, which display diverse forms of SB: often whole-body movements (e.g. pacing), but also head-only movements (e.g. head twirling) and ‘scrabbling’ (scratching at enclosure boundaries)...

Costa, R., Sousa, C., Llorente, M. 2018. Assessment of environmental enrichment for different primate species under low budget: A case study. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 21(2), 185-199.

The 2011 European Union Zoo Inquiry presented evidence that most zoos fail to achieve adequate levels of nonhuman animal welfare. Appropriate environmental enrichment (EE) can play a role in the promotion of welfare. However, financial...

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...

Brand, C. M., Marchant, L. F. 2018. Prevalence and characteristics of hair plucking in captive bonobos (Pan paniscus) in North American zoos. American Journal of Primatology 80(4), e22751.

When primates exhibit hair loss and are observed to engage in self or social hair plucking (a rapid jerking away of the hair shaft and follicle by the hand or mouth, often accompanied by inspection...

Khudamrongsawat, J., Nakchamnan, K., Laithong, P. et al. 2018. Abnormal repetitive behaviours of confiscated slow loris (Nycticebus spp.) in Thailand. Folia Primatologica 89(3-4), 216-223.

The illegal wildlife trade, especially of live animals, is a major threat to slow lorises. Large numbers of confiscated slow lorises are sent to rescue facilities. We aimed to describe the occurrence and types of...

Wagman, J. D., Lukas, K. E., Dennis, P. M. et al. 2018. A work-for-food enrichment program increases exploration and decreases stereotypies in four species of bears. Zoo Biology 37(1), 3–15.

Zoo‐housed bears are prone to exhibiting stereotypic behaviors, generally considered indicators of negative welfare. We explored the effects of a variable‐time feeding enrichment schedule on behavioral indicators of welfare in four bear species at Cleveland...

Wang, R., Hausknechta, K. A., Haj-Dahmane, S. et al. 2018. Decreased environmental complexity during development impairs habituation of reinforcer effectiveness of sensory stimuli. Behavioural Brain Research 337, 53-60.

Previous research has shown that rats reared in simple/impoverished environments demonstrate greater repetitive responding for sensory reinforcers (e.g., light onset). Moreover, the brains of these rats are abnormally developed, compared to brains of rats reared...

Lutz, C. K. 2018. A cross-species comparison of abnormal behavior in three species of singly-housed old world monkeys. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 199, 52-58.

Abnormal behavior occurs in a number of captive nonhuman primate species and is often used as an indicator of welfare. However, reported levels of abnormal behavior often vary across species, making general welfare judgments difficult...

Mellor, E., Brilot, B., Collins, S. 2018. Abnormal repetitive behaviours in captive birds: a Tinbergian review. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 198, 109-120.

Abnormal repetitive behaviours (ARBs) are associated with past, or present, welfare problems and are common elements of the behavioural repertoire of some captive animals, including birds. Millions of birds from hundreds of species are held...

Tjärnström, E., Weber, E. M., Hultgren, J. et al. 2018. Emotions and ethical decision-making in animal ethics committees. Animals 8(10), 181.

Ethical evaluation of projects involving animal testing is mandatory within the EU and other countries. However, the evaluation process has been subject to criticism, e.g., that the committees are not balanced or democratic enough and...

Koch V. W. 2018. Preventing adverse events at research facilities. JAALAS 57(6), 660–669.

In this article, adverse events are defined as events that lead to significant injury or illness, unrelieved pain or distress, or the death of an animal, excluding those caused by IACUC-approved research procedures. The ability...

Miller, R. R., Polack, C. W. 2018. Sources of maladaptive behavior in ‘normal’ organisms. Behavioural Processes 154, 4-12.

A basic assumption of most researchers is that behavior is generally functional, and indeed, in most instances the function is obvious. But in a number of cases, some behaviors of neurophysiologically ‘normal’ organisms appear to...

Omidi, A., Jafari, R., Nazifi, S. et al. 2018. Potential role for selenium in the pathophysiology of crib-biting behavior in horses. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 23, 10-14.

Crib-biting is a repetitive and compulsive behavior that is characterized by “grasping a fixed object with incisor teeth and aspirating air with an audible grunt.” Little is known about etiology and pathophysiology of crib-biting behavior...

Hawkins, P., McBride, A., Paiba, G. et al. 2018. Report of the 2017 RSPCA/UFAW Rodent and Rabbit Welfare Group meeting. Animal Technology and Welfare 17(2), 75-83. [Meeting Report]

The RSPCA/UFAW Rodent (and now Rabbit) Welfare Group held a one-day meeting on 14 November 2017 in Weybridge, UK. The first session addressed meeting animals' needs and aiming for a 'good life', with the needs...

Franco, N. H., Sandøe, P., Olsson, I. A. S. 2018. Researchers’ attitudes to the 3Rs—An upturned hierarchy? PLOS ONE 13(8), e0200895.

Animal use in biomedical research is generally justified by its potential benefits to the health of humans, or other animals, or the environment. However, ethical acceptability also requires scientists to limit harm to animals in...

Ekesbo, I., Gunnarsson, S. 2018. Farm Animal Behaviour: Characteristics for Assessment and Welfare (2nd ed). CABI, Wallingford, UK.

Completely updated and revised, and with a new author team, this second edition of Farm Animal Behaviour continues to provide essential information on normal and stereotypic behaviors in a wide variety of farm animals to...

Liu, H., Duan H., Wang C. 2017. Effects of ambient environmental factors on the stereotypic behaviors of giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). PLOS ONE 12(1), e0170167.

Stereotypies are commonly observed in zoo animals, and it is necessary to better understand whether ambient environmental factors contribute to stereotypy and how to affect animal welfare in zoo settings. This study investigated the relationships...