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. 
Lambert, K. 2021. DIY: Dehydrated watermelon training chips. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 9(4) (July/August), 48.

This simple DIY training treat is great for NHP, swine, rabbits, rodents, and dogs. Note that dehydrated watermelon may resemble muscle tissue!

Brunt, M. W., Weary, D. M. 2021. Perceptions of laboratory animal facility managers regarding institutional transparency. PLOS ONE 16(7), e0254279.

Institutions that conduct animal research are often obliged to release some information under various legal or regulatory frameworks. However, within an institution, perspectives on sharing information with the broader public are not well documented. Inside...

Bodenham, R. 2021. Introducing the swing ball! RATEL (Journal of the Association of British and Irish Wild Animal Keepers) 48(1), 4-7.

A short observational study was carried out on Chester Zoo’s male jaguar and its pack of 14 bush dogs to see if any behavioural changes were found with each species when they were engaging with...

Onozawa, E., Azakami, D., Seki, S. et al. 2021. Effect of an insulation device in preventing hypothermia during magnetic resonance imaging examinations for dogs and cats under general anesthesia. Animals 11(8), 2378.

Dogs and cats under general anesthesia may develop hypothermia. When performing a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination, it is not possible to place a magnetic material in the MRI room, and MRI equipment requires a...

Snowdon, C. T. 2021. Animal signals, music and emotional well-being. Animals 11(9), 2670.

Playing music or natural sounds to animals in human care is thought to have beneficial effects. An analysis of published papers on the use of human-based music with animals demonstrates a variety of different results...

Travain, T., Valsecchi, P. 2021. Infrared thermography in the study of animals’ emotional responses: A critical review. Animals 11(9), 2510.

Whether animals have emotions was historically a long-lasting question but, today, nobody disputes that they do. However, how to assess them and how to guarantee animals their welfare have become important research topics in the...

Desforges, E. 2021. Challenges and solutions surrounding environmental enrichment for dogs and cats in a scientific environment. Animals 11(10), 2980.

Dogs and cats housed in research-, kennel- and cattery-type settings are reliant on caregivers to optimise their day-to-day experiences and welfare. The goal is to provide enriching environments for physical, social and environmental control; behavioural...

Mota-Rojas, D., Marcet-Rius, M., Ogi, A. et al. 2021. Current advances in assessment of dog’s emotions, facial expressions, and their use for clinical recognition of pain. Animals 11(11), 3334.

Animals’ facial expressions are involuntary responses that serve to communicate the emotions that individuals feel. Due to their close co-existence with humans, broad attention has been given to identifying these expressions in certain species, especially...

Prior, H., Blunt, H., Crossman, L. et al. 2021. Refining procedures within regulatory toxicology studies: Improving animal welfare and data. Animals 11(11), 3057.

During the development of potential new medicines or agrochemicals, an assessment of the safety profile to humans and environmental species is conducted using a range of different in silico and in vitro techniques in conjunction...

Diana, A., Salas, M., Pereboom, Z. et al. 2021. A systematic review of the use of technology to monitor welfare in zoo animals: Is there space for improvement? Animals 11(11), 3048.

A top priority of modern zoos is to ensure good animal welfare (AW), thus, efforts towards improving AW monitoring are increasing. Welfare assessments are performed through more traditional approaches by employing direct observations and time-consuming...

MacLellan, A., Fureix, C., Polanco, A. et al. 2021. Can animals develop depression? An overview and assessment of “depression-like” states. Behaviour 158(14/15), 1303–1353.

Describing certain animal behaviours as 'depression-like' or 'depressive' has become common across several fields of research. These typically involve unusually low activity or unresponsiveness and/or reduced interest in pleasure (anhedonia). While the term 'depression-like' carefully...

Zemanova, M. A. 2021. Noninvasive genetic assessment is an effective wildlife research tool when compared with other approaches. Genes 12(11), 1672.

Wildlife research has been indispensable for increasing our insight into ecosystem functioning as well as for designing effective conservation measures under the currently high rates of biodiversity loss. Genetic and genomic analyses might be able...

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...

Barnard, S., Flint, H., Shreyer, T. et al. 2021. Evaluation of an easy-to-use protocol for assessing behaviors of dogs retiring from commercial breeding kennels. PLOS ONE 16(8), e0255883.

Objective, reliable behavioral tests are needed to refine on-site welfare assessments of dogs housed at commercial breeding (CB) kennels and provide a basis to inform predictions of their behavior when retired from such kennels. This...

Podturkin, A. A. 2021. In search of the optimal enrichment program for zoo-housed animals. Zoo Biology 40(6), 527-540.

Zoo-housed animals are regularly exposed to new forms of environmental enrichment to make their lives less predictable. However, providing new enrichment can have unpredictable effects. We evaluated the effectiveness of two enrichment regimes: (1) providing...

Casey, R. A., Naj-Oleari, M., Campbell, S. et al. 2021. Dogs are more pessimistic if their owners use two or more aversive training methods. Scientific Reports 11(1), 19023.

Domestic dogs are trained using a range of different methods, broadly categorised as reward based (positive reinforcement/negative punishment) and aversive based (positive punishment/negative reinforcement). Previous research has suggested associations between use of positive punishment-based techniques...

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...

Watters, J. V., Krebs, B. L., Eschmann, C. L. 2021. Assessing animal welfare with behavior: Onward with caution. Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens 2(1), 75–87.

An emphasis on ensuring animal welfare is growing in zoo and aquarium associations around the globe. This has led to a focus on measures of welfare outcomes for individual animals. Observations and interpretations of behavior...

Kinter, L. B., Johnson, D. K., Weichbrod, R. H. et al. 2021. Fit for Purpose assessment: A new direction for IACUCs. ILAR Journal 62(3), 314–331.

The organization and function of the institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC) is the key component of government regulation and oversight of necessary scientific research using live animals and of AAALAC - International accreditation...

Watters, J. V., Krebs, B. L., Eschmann, C. L. 2021. Assessing animal welfare with behavior: Onward with caution. Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens 2(1), 75–87.

An emphasis on ensuring animal welfare is growing in zoo and aquarium associations around the globe. This has led to a focus on measures of welfare outcomes for individual animals. Observations and interpretations of behavior...

Melfi, V. A., Dorey, N. R., Ward, S. (Eds.) 2020. Zoo Animal Learning and Training. John Wiley & Sons: Hoboken, NJ, 384 pp.

Comprehensively explains animal learning theories and current best practices in animal training within zoos. This accessible, up-to-date book on animal training in a zoo/aquaria context provides a unified approach to zoo animal learning, bringing together...

Ketter, D. A., Klima, A., Küchenhoff, H. et al. 2020. Effects of calf horn as chews on the behavior of laboratory dogs. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 23(1), 116-128.

It is increasingly required that non-human animals in laboratories are provided with adequate enrichment to promote the welfare of the animals. In a previous publication we showed that laboratory dogs intensively used the horn of...

Vitulli, V., Zanin, L., Trentini, R. et al. 2020. Anthrozoology in action: Performing cognitive training paths in a garden shelter to make dogs more suitable as pets. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 23(1), 29-40.

The overpopulation of shelters and the increase of homeless dogs have become serious problems in many countries. One contributor to the number of both sheltered and homeless dogs is the abandonment and relinquishment of pet...

Persson, K., Selter, F., Neitzke, G. et al. 2020. Philosophy of a “good death” in small animals and consequences for euthanasia in animal law and veterinary practice. Animals 10(1), 124.

Moral stress is a major concern in veterinary practice. Often, it is associated with the challenges in end-of-life situations. Euthanasia, however, is also meant to bring relief to animal patients and their owners. The reasons...

Gutfreund, Y. 2020. Harm-benefit analysis may not be the best approach to ensure minimal harms and maximal benefits of animal research—Alternatives should be explored. Animals 10(2), 291.

Using animals in scientific research is commonly justified on the utilitarian basis that the benefits of scientific progress to human health and society exceed by far the harm inflicted on animals. In an attempt to...