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. 

It was concluded that the provision of large enclosures, containing large numbers of movable objects and providing social opportunities, would promote higher levels of activity in captive orangutans.

Wild chimpanzees commonly use sticks to fish for termites, ants or honey. This ability seems to be socially transmitted to juveniles by their mothers across generations. In a natural environment, the limited visibility of this...

Discussion of issues that must be considered when deciding how to house nonhuman primates socially. These issues include the kind of social arrangements, the introduction procedure, cage features and access by researchers to individual animals.

Providing an ear of unhusked corn daily or on alternate days, in addition to laboratory chow, resulted in more time spent contacting food [primarily the corn] an hour after feeding [34% & 55%] than feeding...

A perforated hard plastic ball loaded with peanuts was attached to the outside of the cage. The [single-housed] animals spent most of their time sitting on their cage perches [females 66%, males 36%]. Manipulating the...

Clear flexible plastic tubing held together in the shape of an X was baited with peanuts and attached outside to the front of the cage.

At a very minimum all potentially significant husbandryt-related variables should be adequately described in any scientific publication so that other investigators can repeat the experimen/test or carry out comparative studies.

Zoo primates do not habituate to the public as they seem to habituate to the passive research observer. ... The behaviours of zoo primates and the size and activity of visitor groups are, indeed, related.

Discussion of inanimate enrichment options for chimpanzees. It is interesting and unfortunate that most of the forms of [inanimate] enrichment that have been carefully evaluated are more effective for immature animals than for adults.

The purpose of this study was to observe as many gorilla groups as possible and to compare their behaviour in different exhibits, social structures and visitor situation. Gorillas were studied in 15 zoos, they lived...

Clear recommendations of how to introduce new chimpanzees to a core group and how to form a new group. Valuable survey of the introduction protocols of twenty institutions that reported conducting introduction.

The animal was moved to the front with the squeeze device, and the collar was clipped with the snaphook to the mid or upper quadrant of the cage. ... The snaphook with the pole and...

Facilities must exercise caution when installing such climbing devices as vertically hanging or horizontally suspended ropes and chains - these must not crisscross or be too slack, because an animal can strangle its neck, limbs...

An enrichment program for single-housed macaques and squirrel monkeys is outlined. It is important to recognize that visual contact between incompatible conspecifics can lead to problems such as anorexia and stereotypic behavior. Therefore our caregivers...

An ethological plea for larger social groupings, i.e., 10-12 animals including 3-5 adult females and their young and one breeder male.

Barrels were arranged three ways: unattached, on a swivel, and stationary. ...Barrels were not used by all [group-housed] animal classes, adults virtually ignored them.