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. 
Windschnurer, I., Fischer, L., Yanagida, T. et al. 2021. Caretaker attitudes and animal training are associated with alpaca behaviour towards humans—An online survey. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 236, 105224.

Although alpacas are becoming increasingly popular animals, their behaviour towards humans has received little research interest until now. The purpose of our study was to investigate, for the first time, associations between caretaker attitudes and...

Sørensen, D., Cloutier, S., Gaskill, B. (Eds.). 2021. Animal-centric Care and Management - Enhancing Refinement in Biomedical Research. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.

The concept of the 3Rs (Refinement, Reduction and Replacement) has been used as a framework for improving the welfare of laboratory animals for the last half century. By establishing an animal-centric view on housing and...

Fife-Cook, I., Franks, B. 2021. Koi (Cyprinus rubrofuscus) seek out tactile interaction with humans: General patterns and individual differences. Animals 11(3), 706.

The study of human–animal interactions has provided insights into the welfare of many species. To date, however, research has largely focused on human relationships with captive mammals, with relatively little exploration of interactions between humans...

Rácz, A., Allan, B., Dwyer, T. et al. 2021. Identification of individual zebrafish (Danio rerio): A refined protocol for VIE tagging whilst considering animal welfare and the principles of the 3Rs. Animals 11(3), 616.

In aquatic ecology, studies have commonly employed a tagging technique known as visible implant elastomer (VIE). This method has not been widely adopted by the zebrafish research community and also lacks refinement with regard to...

Merkies, K., Franzin, O. 2021. Enhanced understanding of horse–human interactions to optimize welfare. Animals 11(5), 1347.

Horses (Equus caballus) have been domesticated for millennia and are regularly utilized for work, sport, and companionship. Enhanced understanding of human–horse interactions can create avenues to optimize their welfare. This review explores the current research...

Rooney, H. B., Schmitt, O., Courty, A. et al. 2021. Like mother like child: Do fearful sows have fearful piglets? Animals 11(5), 1232.

Gestational and early life experiences affect subsequent behavioural and physical development. The objective of the current study was to investigate associations between gilts’ fear of humans, gestational stress level, and feeding and maternal behaviour, as...

Hayes, M. E., Hemsworth, L. M., Morrison, R. S. et al. 2021. Positive human contact and housing systems impact the responses of piglets to various stressors. Animals 11(6), 1619.

This experiment studied the effects of lactation housing systems and human interaction on piglets’ responses to routine stressors. Forty litters of piglets were reared in either a standard farrowing crate (FC) or a loose farrowing...

Burn, C. C., Mazlan, N. H. B., Chancellor, N. et al. 2021. The pen is milder than the blade: Identification marking mice using ink on the tail appears more humane than ear-punching even with local anaesthetic. Animals 11(6), 1664.

Identification marking mice commonly involves ear-punching with or without anaesthetic, or tail-marking with ink. To identify which is most humane, we marked weanling male BALB/c mice using ear-punching (EP), ear-punching with anaesthetic EMLATM cream (EP+A)...

Nagasawa, T., Ohta, M., Uchiyama, H. 2021. The urinary hormonal state of cats associated with social interaction with humans. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 8, 680843.

Research to assess the relationship between cats and humans is in a nascent stage. Some studies have assessed the stress status in cats using physiological indicators, such as the cortisol hormone, but have not focused...

Bombail, V., Brown, S. M., Hammond, T. J. et al. 2021. Crying with laughter: Adapting the tickling protocol to address individual differences among rats in their response to playful handling. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 8, 677872.

In this Opinion paper, we consider whether current methods of tickling overemphasize the use of pinning (Figure 1) to which there may be a wider response variation than commonly acknowledged. We do not dispute that...

Celeste, N. A., Emmer, K. M., Bidot, W. A. et al. 2021. Effects of cling film draping material on body temperature of mice during surgery. JAALAS 60(2), 195-200.

General anesthesia induces many systemic effects, including thermoregulatory impairment and subsequent perioperative hypothermia. Due to the animals' small size, monitoring and maintaining body temperatures in laboratory rodents during anesthesia is important for successful surgical outcomes...

Rowley, N. L., Ramos-Rivera, E., Raiciulescu, S. et al. 2021. Comparison of two hair removal methods in Sprague–Dawley rats (Rattus norvegicus). JAALAS 60(2), 213-220.

Rats commonly undergo surgery for research purposes. However, the effects of different methods of hair removal on wound healing and surgical site infections (SSI) in rats has not been evaluated. The current study evaluated 2...

Learmonth, M. J., Sherwen, S., Hemsworth, P. 2021. Assessing choice ability and preferences of five Leopard Tortoises (Stigmochelys pardalis) for three stimuli through a novel two-phase preference test. Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research, 9(2), 94-101.

Preference testing has long been used in ethology and animal welfare science to assess the preferences that animals have for different resources and stimuli. The study conducted herein assessed the choice-making ability of five leopard...

Learmonth, M. J., Sherwen, S., Hemsworth, P. H. 2021. Assessing preferences of two zoo-housed Aldabran giant tortoises (Aldabrachelys gigantea) for three stimuli using a novel preference test. Zoo Biology 40(2), 98-106.

Recent research has uncovered many complex cognitive traits and affective processes in many reptile species, such as the ability to make choices that are rewarding or pleasurable. The investigation herein was initiated after many years...

Deputte, B. L., Jumelet, E., Gilbert, C. et al. 2021. Heads and tails: An analysis of visual signals in cats, Felis catus. Animals 11(9), 2752.

Visual communication involves specific signals. These include the different positions of mobile body elements. We analyzed visual configurations in cats that involve ears and the tail. We aimed at deciphering which features of these configurations...

Kelly, K. J., McDuffee, L. A., Mears, K. 2021. The effect of human–horse interactions on equine behaviour, physiology, and welfare: A scoping review. Animals 11(10), 2782.

Human–horse interactions (HHIs) are diverse and prominent in the equine industry. Stakeholders have an invested interest in making sure that HHIs are humane. Assessment of equine welfare goes beyond physical health and includes assessment of...

Camargo-dos-Santos, B., Carlos, C. L., Favero-Neto, J. et al. 2021. Welfare in Nile tilapia production: Dorsal fin erection as a visual indicator for insensibility. Animals 11(10), 3007.

In aquaculture, to ensure animal welfare in pre-slaughter and slaughter stages, it is fundamental that fish are insensible. A method for evaluating fish insensibility is based on visual sensibility indicators (VSI) assessment (i.e., self-initiated behavior...

Lange, A., Waiblinger, S., van Hasselt, R. et al. 2021. Effects of restraint on heifers during gentle human-animal interactions. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 243, 105445.

Gentle human-animal interactions can induce positive emotions in cattle and enhance their welfare. We investigated whether a change in the animals’ perceived control over the situation influences their perception of the interactions. We compared the...

Van Hooser, J. P., Pekow, C., Nguyen, H. M. et al. 2021. Caring for the animal caregiver—Occupational health, human-animal bond and compassion fatigue. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 8, 731003.

Laboratory Animal Professionals experience many positive and rewarding interactions when caring for and working with research animals. However, these professionals also may experience conflicting feelings and exhaustion when the work is stressful due to factors...

Fusco, A., Douglas, H., Barba, A. et al. 2021. V-Gel® guided endotracheal intubation in rabbits. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 8, 684624.

Background: General anesthesia in rabbits is associated with higher morbidity and mortality relative to other mammalian species commonly anesthetized. Unique challenges related to endotracheal intubation (ETI) in rabbits contribute to this risk. Objective: To improve...

Bowling, P. A., Bencivenga, M. A., Leyva, M. E. et al. 2021. Effects of a heated anesthesia breathing circuit on body temperature in anesthetized rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). JAALAS 60(6), 675-680.

This study evaluated the effects of using a heated anesthesia breathing circuit in addition to forced-air warming on body temperature in anesthetized rhesus macaques as compared with forced-air warming alone. Hypothermia is a common perianesthetic...

Kinaci, A., Vaessen, K., Redegeld, S. et al. 2021. Minimizing complications in a porcine survival craniotomy model. Laboratory Animals 55(5), 435-442.

A large craniotomy survival porcine model is useful for scientific research. The surgical approaches and complications of craniotomies in pigs have not been published before. This study describes how large craniotomies were performed in 46...

Bruce, H., Brennan, M. 2021. Does using an endotracheal tube or a supraglottic airway device result in better unassisted ventilation in rabbits? Veterinary Record 189(7), 289-290.

Both endotracheal tubes and supraglottic airway devices appear to provide adequate unassisted ventilation in anaesthetised rabbits. However, it is highly recommended that a capnograph is used with both airway devices to monitor ventilation changes, especially...

Robstad, C. A., Lodberg-Holm, H. K., Mayer, M. et al. 2021. The impact of bio-logging on body weight change of the Eurasian beaver. PLOS ONE 16(12), e0261453.

Bio-logging is a common method to collect ecological data on wild animals, but might also induce stress, reduce body condition, and alter behavior. Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber) are a semi-aquatic and nocturnal species that are...

Bernstein-Kurtycz, L. M., Koester, D. C., Snyder, R. J. et al. 2021. “Bearly” changing with the seasons: Bears of five species show few behavioral changes across seasons and at varying visitor densities. Animal Behavior and Cognition 8(4), 538–557.

In natural environments, bear behavior follows seasonal patterns but the zoo environment differs from the natural environment in several ways, including the presence of zoo visitors. Although typically difficult to disentangle, we were able to...