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. 
Huber, N., Mahr, K., Tóth, Z. et al. 2021. The stressed bird in the hand: Influence of sampling design on the physiological stress response in a free-living songbird. Physiology & Behavior 238, 113488.

Despite the widely used application of standardized capture-handling protocols to collect blood and assess the physiological stress response, the actual sampling design (e.g., timing and the number of blood samples) often differs between studies, and...

Ratuski, A. S., Weary, D. M. 2021. A break from the pups: The effects of loft access on the welfare of lactating laboratory rats. PLOS ONE 16(6), e0253020.

Rats (Rattus norvegicus) bred for research are typically confined with their litters until weaning, but will spend time away from pups when given the opportunity. We aimed to assess how dam welfare is affected by...

Argüelles, J., Echaniz, M., Bowen, J. et al. 2021. The impact of a stress-reducing protocol on the quality of pre-anaesthesia in cats. Veterinary Record 188(12), e138.

Introduction: Transport to the clinic is a major source of stress for cats. The process involves being put into a carrier, driven in a car and handled. Cats are therefore removed from the safe-haven of...

Moore, J., Wickert, M. 2021. Thinking outside of the tunnel for non-aversive mouse handling. Animal Technology and Welfare 20(2), 161-163.

The key to non-aversive methods of handling lies in understanding what capture method creates the least anxiety in mice: be this tunnel or cupping or another method. It is important that we do not get...

Borgmans, G., Palme, R., Sannen, A. et al. 2021. Routine handling does not lead to chronic stress in captive green anole (Anolis carolinensis). Animal Welfare 30(2), 145-154.

Routine handling has been shown to affect stress levels in a variety of animal species. This could result in a general decrease in welfare and may confound the results of scientific experiments or observations on...

Ujita, A., Seekford, Z., Kott, M. et al. 2021. Habituation protocols improve behavioral and physiological responses of beef cattle exposed to students in an animal handling class. Animals 11(8), 2159.

Our objective was to determine the impact of different habituation protocols on beef cattle behavior, physiology, and temperament in response to human handling. Beef heifers were exposed to three habituation strategies: (1) tactile stimulation (brushing)...

Brajon, S., Morello, G. M., Capas-Peneda, S. et al. 2021. All the pups we cannot see: Cannibalism masks perinatal death in laboratory mouse breeding but infanticide is rare. Animals 11(8), 2327.

Perinatal mortality is a major issue in laboratory mouse breeding. We compared a counting method using daily checks (DAILY_CHECK) with a method combining daily checks with detailed video analyses to detect cannibalisms (VIDEO_TRACK) for estimating...

Houser, L. A., Ramsey, C., de Carvalho, F. M. et al. 2021. Improved training and semen collection outcomes using the closed box chair for macaques. Animals 11(8), 2384.

Collaborative semen collection in monkeys is a valuable tool in research, animal collection management, and conservation efforts. To obtain samples, monkeys are often restrained in open restraint chairs (ORC) with the “pole and collar” technique...

Holdsworth, S. E., Kells, N. J., Chidgey, K. L. et al. 2021. Characterisation of the behavioural effects of a thoracic squeeze in healthy newborn piglets. Animals 11(8), 2465.

Firmly squeezing the chests of newborn foals and calves that are showing abnormal behaviours after birth causes them to enter a less-responsive state, characterised by lying down with eyes closed and no limb movements. Once...

Tucker, B. S., Craig, J. R., Morrison, R. S. et al. 2021. Piglet viability: A review of identification and pre-weaning management strategies. Animals 11(10), 2902.

Increased attention on the effects of the global push for a larger litter size has focused on the increased occurrence of piglets with decreased viability, which have lighter birthweights and a reduced ability to thrive...

Bergvall, U. A., Morellet, N., Kjellander, P. et al. 2021. Settle down! Ranging behaviour responses of roe deer to different capture and release methods. Animals 11(11), 3299.

The fitting of tracking devices to wild animals requires capture and handling which causes stress and can potentially cause injury, behavioural modifications that can affect animal welfare and the output of research. We evaluated post...

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...

Wenker, M. L., van Reenen, C. G., de Oliveira, D. et al. 2021. Calf-directed affiliative behaviour of dairy cows in two types of cow-calf contact systems. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 243, 105461.

There is an interest in alternative rearing systems that allow for prolonged cow-calf contact (CCC). Yet, a better understanding of cows’ affiliative behaviour in those systems is needed. We evaluated the effect of type of...

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...

Toinon, C., Waiblinger, S., Rault, J.-L. 2021. Maternal deprivation affects goat kids’ stress coping behaviour. Physiology & Behavior 239, 113494.

Maternal deprivation early in life has been shown to disrupt neonates’ development. Nevertheless, separating the young animals from their dams soon after birth remains a common practice in dairy farm husbandry. This study investigated the...

Redaelli, V., Bosi, A., Luzi, F. et al. 2021. Neuroinflammation, body temperature and behavioural changes in CD1 male mice undergoing acute restraint stress: An exploratory study. PLOS ONE 16(11), e0259938.

Background: Animal models used to study pathologies requiring rehabilitation therapy, such as cardiovascular and neurologic disorders or oncologic disease, must be as refined and translationally relevant as possible. Sometimes, however, experimental procedures such as those...

Grims, C., Jacobson, C., Hedenqvist, P. 2021. Are female mice dehydrated during peak lactation? Effect of water and gel supplement on hydration parameters and water consumption in two strains of mice. Scandinavian Journal of Laboratory Animal Science 47(3), 16-24.

Mice (Mus musculus) have a high basal rate of metabolism which increases during pregnancy and lactation. During peak lactation, water intake amounts to up to 65 % of the bodyweight per day. Providing water in...

Sandgren, R., Grims, C., Waters, J. et al. 2021. Using cage ladders as a handling device reduces aversion and anxiety in laboratory mice, similar to tunnel handling. Scandinavian Journal of Laboratory Animal Science 47(5), 31-41.

Handling laboratory animals for husbandry and other procedures can be an important source of anxiety and stress, compromising animal welfare as well as the reliability of research that is sensitive to background stressors. Studies have...

Hodges, S. 2021. Practical Canine Behaviour: For Veterinary Nurses and Technicians (2nd ed). CABI, Wallingford, UK.

In this book Stephanie Hedges draws on more than 20 years as a practicing veterinary nurse and her training as a Certificated Clinical Animal Behaviourist (CCAB). She provides a quick reference and practically relevant canine...

Kidd, P., Rose, P. 2021. Influences of rearing environment on behaviour and welfare of captive Chilean flamingos: A case study on foster-reared and parent-reared birds. Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens 2(2), 174–206.

Behaviour signals the internal states that relate to an individual’s welfare and its development is influenced by the early social environment that an animal experiences. Husbandry practices can alter this early social environment, for example...

Ramont, M., Leahy, M., Cronin, K. A. 2021. The welfare of domestic goats (Capra hircus) in a zoo-based animal-visitor interaction program. Animal Behavior and Cognition 8(4), 493–506.

We investigated whether the welfare of domestic goats in an animal-visitor interaction experience at a zoo was affected by the presence and behavior of visitors. We considered how the number of visitors in the goats’...

Muvhali, P. T., Bonato, M., Engelbrecht, A. et al. 2020. Extensive human presence and regular gentle handling improve growth, survival and immune competence in ostrich chicks. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 23(1), 95-107.

A total of 416 day-old ostrich chicks were randomly allocated to one of the three different husbandry practices for 3 months after hatch; HP1 (extensive human presence with gentle human voice, visual and gentle physical...

Moody, C. M., Mason, G. J., Dewey, C. E. et al. 2020. Getting a grip: Cats respond negatively to scruffing and clips. Veterinary Record 186(12), 385.

Use of scruffing and scruffing tools (eg, clipnosis clips) to immobilise cats is contentious, and cat handling guidelines vary in recommendations regarding these techniques. The current study examined whether cats show negative responses to the...

Li, C., Wang, J., Jin, S. et al. 2020. Artificial grooming during early life could boost the activity and human affinity of Holstein female calves. Animals 10(2), 302.

Early cow–calf separation management induced various welfare problems for dairy calves. We mimicked the maternal licking by manually brushing right after the Holstein female calves were born and during their first week of life, termed...

Arrazola, A., Mosco, E., Widowski, T. M. et al. 2020. The effect of alternative feeding strategies during rearing on the behaviour of broiler breeder pullets. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 224, 104929.

Broiler breeders are feed-restricted during rearing to avoid the negative consequences of obesity during lay due to their genetic potential for fast growth rate. Feed restriction leads to chronic hunger, frustration and lack of satiety...