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. 
Bound, V., Shewman, H., Sievert, J. 1988. The successful introduction of five male lion-tailed macaques (Macaca silenus) at Woodland Park Zoo. American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) Regional Conference Proceedings, 122-131.

Male lion-tailed macaques (Macaca silenus) are notoriously aggressive and thus, few attempts have been made to house them together as adults. At Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle we had five surplus males with which we...

Boccia, M. L., Laudenslager, M. L., Reite, M. 1988. Food distribution, dominance, and aggressive behaviours in bonnet macaques. American Journal of Primatology 16, 123-130.

Dispersing the food throughout the enclosure, rather than distributing it in one location, resulted in a decrease in agonistic interactions.

Bloomstrand, M. A., Young, S. P. 1988. The use of videotapes as enrichment for singly housed chimpanzees. American Journal of Primatology 14, 411 (Abstract).

Each of six adult group-housed chimpanzees was placed in a single cage for 20-minute sessions during which a variety of videotapes were shown. The chimpanzees' response varied according to individuals and content of tape.

Bloomsmith, M. A., Alford, P. L., Maple, T. L. 1988. Successful feeding enrichment for captive chimpanzees. American Journal of Primatology 16, 155-164.

Four feeding techniques were simultaneously implemented: Corn on the cob/celery/artichokes, biscuits at libitum, sunflower seeds and peanuts spread in the grass, and puzzles filled with treats. Agonistic, abnormal, and grooming behaviors were significantly reduced.

Beckley, S., Novak, M. 1988. An examination of various foraging components and their suitability as enrichment tools for captively housed primates. American Journal of Primatology 14, 409 (Abstract).

Vertically mounted foraging racks are described.

Boyd, J. 1988. Mice. Humane Innovations and Alternatives in Animal Experimentation 2, 49-50.

Description of an ingenious, simple method to minimize odor, provide species-appropriate nesting opportunities and to facilitate cleaning.

Arluke, A. B. 1988. Sacrificial symbolism in animal experimentation: Object or pet? Anthrozo?s 2, 98-117.

Making animate creatures objects allows a denial of the interconnectedness between subject and object. ... The scientific necessity of research requires the objectification of animals so that they can be treated in ways that would...

Adams, M. R., Kaplan, J. R., Manuck, S. B. et al. 1988. Persistent sympathetic nervous system arousal associated with tethering in cynomolgus macaques. Laboratory Animal Science 38, 279-282.

Persistent elevation in heart rate associated with tethering appears to be the result of a persistent influence of the sympathetic nervous system on cardiac function. .... Other organs and systems, e.g., pituitary-gonadal system, also may...

Young, S. S. 1987. Are there local room effects on hepatic tumors in male mice? An examination of the NTP eugenol study. Fundamental and Applied Toxicology 8, 1-4.

Mortality and tumor incidence in carcinogenesis experiments differ between mice caged in the top vs. bottom of the rack.

Appleby, M. C., Lawrence, A. B. 1987. Food restriction as a cause of stereotypic behaviour in tethered gilts. Animal Production 45, 103-110.

Food restriction can be a cause of stereotypic behaviors in pigs. The implication is that animals given small amounts of food should not be closely confined and that confined animals should not be deprived of...

Anderson, L. 1987. Guinea pig husbandry and medicine. The Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice 17, 1045-1060.

Guinea pigs of lower social rank may exhibt hair loss form chewing by more dominant membres of the groups and juveniles may pull hair from their mothers.

Odberg, F. O. 1987. The influence of cage size and environmental enrichment on the development of stereotypies in bank voles. Behavioural Processes 14, 155-173.

Bank voles were bred and lived in 4 different environments: small barren cages (SB), small enriched cages (SR), big barren cages (BB) and big enriched ones (BR). Ten different behaviours were recorded at the age...

Ziegler, T. E., Bridson, W. E., Snowdon, C. T. et al. 1987. Urinary gonadotropin and estrogen excretion during the postpartum estrus, conception, and pregnancy in the cotton-top tamarin (Saguinus oedipus oedipus). American Journal of Primatology 12, 127-140.

The results indicated that enrichment is more determinant than cage size, as more voles developed stereotypies in SB and BB than in SR and BR.

Zimmermann, M. 1987. Ethical principles for the maintenance and use of animals in neuroscience research. Neuroscience Letters 73, 1.

Improving the environment after day 60 inhibited the stereotypies in most ST animals, while smaller and/or barren environments elicited them in very few NST.

Yates, J. 1987. Project Pup: The preceived benefits to nursing home residents. Anthrozoos 1, 188-192.

ST voles performed significantly more rearing and walking-sniffing and showed significantly less immobility than NST ones. These differences remained linked to the ST/NST status when an animal reversed it after day 60.

Wolfle, T. L. 1987. Control of stress using non-drug approaches. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 191, 1219-1221.

Within different environments, some individuals are more prone to react actively to frustration, including the development of stereotypies. The performance of stereotypies is associated with a more general behavioural activation.

Wilson, C. C. 1987. Physiological responses of college students to a pet. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 175, 606?612.

The effect of a pet on cardiovascular responses of college students was examined under three test conditions (i.e., reading aloud, reading quietly, and interacting with an unknown dog). A repeated-measures analysis with three covariates was...

Westergaard, G. C., Lindquist, T. 1987. Manipulation of objects in a captive group of lion-tailed macaques (Macaca silenus). American Journal of Primatology 12, 231-234.

The animals frequently manipulated simple objects [browse and bamboo poles] that were provided in their home cage. They engaged in a variety of goal-oriented manipulative activities [e.g., to apply leverage, to create perches and ladders]...

Whitney, R. A. , Wickings, E. J. 1987. Macaques and other old world simians. In: The UFAW Handbook on the Care and Management of Laboratory Animals, Sixth Edition . Poole, T. B. (ed), 599-627. Churchill Livingstone, New York, NY.

Valuable recommendations to select appropriate cage size and to avoid aggression in group-housing conditions. A number of guidelines [regarding cage size] have been published, but these give conflicting advice and appear to be based on...

Traystman, R. J. 1987. ACUC, who needs it? The investigator's viewpoint. Laboratory Animal Science 37(Special Issue), 108-110.

The author succinctly summarizes the prevailing attitude of investigators toward their research subjects: The investigator, above all, wants to pursue his or her research activities, be they of basic science or clinical nature. The academic...

Strum, S. C. 1987. Almost Human. A Journey into the World of Baboons. Random House, New York, NY.
Segal, E. F. 1987. Caging of laboratory monkeys: Alternative to isolation housing in small cages. Humane Innovations and Alternatives in Animal Experimentation 1, 6.

A case study of one pair of rhesus macaques.

Scientists Center for Animal Welfare 1987. Consensus recommendations on effective Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees. Laboratory Animal Science 37, 11-13.

Simple procedures such as injections of relatively harmless substances and blood sampling are categorized as experiments that are expected to produce little or no discomfort [p. 12].

Reinhardt, V., Reinhardt, A., Eisele, S. et al. 1987. Control of excessive aggressive disturbance in a heterogeneous troop of rhesus monkeys. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 18, 371-377.

Chronic harassment in a troop of rhesus monkeys was related to two animals. The carefully supervised removal of these individuals brought harmony back into the group.

Reinhardt, V., Reinhardt, A., Houser, D. 1987. Prompted progression order in a troop of captive rhesus monkeys. Folia Primatologica 48(3-4), 121-124.

The 22 animals were prompted - shouting, threatening with sticks - to exit into a transfer cage and subsequently weighed one a month. The animals had to overcome fear before leaving their home pen. Nonetheless...