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. 
Seier, J., de Villiers, C., van Heerden, J. et al. 2011. The effect of housing and environmental enrichment on stereotyped behavior of adult vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops). Lab Animal 40(7), 218-224.

Little information is available on the response of vervet monkeys to different housing conditions or on the suitability of enrichment devices or methods for vervet monkeys. In this study, the authors evaluated the occurrence of...

Runeson, E. P., Lee, G. H., Crockett, C. M. et al. 2011. Evaluating paint rollers as an intervention for alopecia in monkeys in the laboratory (Macaca nemestrina). Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 14(2), 138-149.

Adult female macaques (Macaca nemestrina) in the laboratory with alopecia from known or suspected overgrooming were subjects in a study evaluating effectiveness of a grooming device. The intervention evaluated was a paint roller on a...

Van de Perre, V., Driessen, B., Van Thielen, J. et al. 2011. Comparison of pig behaviour when given a sequence of enrichment objects or a chain continuously. Animal Welfare 20(4), 641-649.

Tail biting is a major problem in modern pig (Sus scrofa) production and results in a reduction of animal welfare and productive performance. Biting behaviour has been shown to be decreased by the use of...

Tosa, N., Yoshimatsu, K., Arikawa, J. 2011. Effect of environmental enrichment after the occurrence of wet bedding created by mice and abnormal fur in mice. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 779-780 (Abstract #P161).

In management of laboratory animals, wet bedding created by mice and abnormal fur in mice cause problems on housing, leading to negative effects both on the wellbeing of mice and on the validity of experimental...

Nam-Mi Gross, A., Engela, A. K. J., Würbel, H. 2011. Simply a nest? Effects of different enrichments on stereotypic and anxiety-related behaviour in mice. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 134(3-4), 239-245 .

Improving the home cages of laboratory mice by environmental enrichment has been widely used to reduce cage stereotypies and anxiety-related behaviour in behavioural tests. However, enrichment studies differ substantially in type, complexity and variation of...

Ekesbo, I. 2011. Sheep. In: Farm Animal Behavior: Characteristics for Assessment of Health and Welfare, 1st edition. Fraser, A. F. , Broom, D. M. (ed). CABI, Oxfordshire, UK. pp. 82-92.

Each chapter follows a consistent pattern describing the behavioral characteristics of the species featured. Reference is made to the natural state before domestication, leading us through the various changes to the present, demonstrating along the...

Bortolini, T. S., Bicca-Marques, J. C. 2011. The effect of environmental enrichment and visitors on the behaviour and welfare of two captive hamadryas baboons (Papio hamadryas). Animal Welfare 20(4), 573-579.

The welfare of zoo animals depends on a combination of physical, social, dietary and other ecological characteristics of the captive setting. We analysed the influence of the transfer of an adult couple of hamadryas baboons...

Reamer, L., Tooze, Z., Coulson, C. et al. 2010. Correlates of self-directed and stereotypic behaviours in captive red-capped mangabeys (Cercocebus torquatus torquatus). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 124(1-2), 68-74.

The quantification of behaviours linked to anxiety or stress provides a powerful means to address applied questions related to the well-being of captive animals. This study explored correlates of two such behaviours: self-directed (SDB) and...

Lutz, C. K., Condel, L. L., Ponce, F. B. 2010. A survey of alopecia in group-housed baboons. American Journal of Primatology 72(S1), 35. (33rd Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists Scientific Program, Abstract #32)

Although alopecia may arise from a variety of causes, it is often viewed as an indicator of impaired wellbeing, frequently becoming a focus of regulators or facility managers. However, the extent of alopecia in populations...

Fultz, A., Brent, L., Loeser, E. 2010. Abnormal behaviors in sanctuary chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). American Journal of Primatology 72(S1), 28-29. (33rd Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists Scientific Program, Abstract #10)

Chimp Haven has retired 153 chimpanzees, the majority from biomedical research, and abnormal behavior patterns have been reported. Abnormal behaviors are well described in chimpanzees and usually related to early rearing environment, social isolation and...

Egeler, J. L., Hoekwater, S., Hoffman, H. D. 2010. Monitoring program for the treatment of nonhuman primates with behavioral disorders. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 717 (Abstract #P113).

Maintaining the psychologic wellbeing of nonhuman primates housed in a laboratory setting is an important aspect in providing the best possible care for these animals. Nonhuman primates kept in captivity can begin to display abnormal...

De Villiers, C., Seier, J. V. 2010. Stopping self injurious behaviour of a young male chacma baboon (Papio ursinus). Animal Technology and Welfare 9(2), 77-80.

While access to a foraging log had no curative effect on serious self-injurious biting of a single-caged subadult male baboon, transferring the animal to an outdoor section with compatible females in adjacent cages (allowing grooming...

Turner, P. V., Ovari, J., Pinelli, C. et al. 2010. Long-term effects of housing and enrichment on affective behavior and responsiveness of Sprague-Dawley rats. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 658-659 (Abstract #PS12).

Most rodent studies evaluate different caging paradigms over short periods of time, which may not be realistic for typical colony settings. Inappropriate housing may lead to boredom, aggression, stereotypies, and altered metabolism, which in turn...

Tilly, S.-L. C., Dallaire, J., Mason, G. J. 2010. Middle-aged mice with enrichment-resistant stereotypic behaviour show reduced motivation for enrichment. Animal Behaviour 80(3), 363-373.

For captive animals, living in barren conditions leads to stereotypic behaviour that is hard to alleviate using environmental enrichment. This resistance to enrichment is often explained via mechanisms that decouple abnormal behaviour from current welfare...

Pawlowicz, A., Demner, A., Lewis, M. H. 2010. Effects of access to voluntary wheel running on the development of stereotypy. Behavioural Processes 83(3), 242-246.

Stereotyped motor behaviors are a common consequence of environmental restriction in a wide variety of species. Although environmental enrichment has been shown to substantially reduce stereotypy levels, the various components of enrichment have not been...

Jensen, M. B., Studnitz, M., Pedersen, L. J. 2010. The effect of type of rooting material and space allowance on exploration and abnormal behaviour in growing pigs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 123(3-4), 87-92.

The experiment aimed to investigate the effect of type of rooting material and space allowance on explorative and abnormal behaviour in growing pigs. Thirty-six pens with partly slatted concrete floor were allocated to one of...

Harper, V., Frey, A., Bradley, D. et al. 2010. Recognizing and addressing stereotypic behaviors. Tech Talk [The Newsletter for Laboratory Animal Science Technicians] 15(4), 2.

The combination of mouse igloos and running wheels proved to be highly effective in reducing flipping, circling, and jumping.

Dixon, L. M., Duncan, I. J. H., Mason, G. J. 2010. The effects of four types of enrichment on feather-pecking behaviour in laying hens housed in barren environments. Animal Welfare 19(4), 429-435.

Severe feather pecking, a potentially stereotypic behaviour in chickens (Gallus gallus), can be reduced by providing enrichment. However, there is little comparative information available on the effectiveness of different types of enrichment. Providing forages to...

Coble, D. C., Martin, A. L., Perlman, J. E. et al. 2010. Rate of self-injurious behavior in buspirone-treated rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) across different levels of human activity in the environment. American Journal of Primatology 72(S1), 27-28. (33rd Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists Scientific Program, Abstract #7)

This study examined the effectiveness of an anxiolytic drug, buspirone, in rhesus macaques with a history of self-injurious behavior. ... However, self-biting was more prevalent during periods of high activity. Treatment with buspirone was not...

Bentson, K. L., Crockett, C. M., Wahl, K. L. et al. 2010. Floating limb behaviors and self-biting are associated in laboratory monkeys. American Journal of Primatology 72(8), 725-733.

Early descriptions of floating limb behaviors in monkeys were associated with isolation rearing, a practice that ended more than two decades ago. The present authors named various forms of behaviors in which a leg is...

Latham, N., Mason, G. 2010. Frustration and perseveration in stereotypic captive animals: Is a taste of enrichment worse than none at all? Behavioural Brain Research 211(1), 96-104.

Stereotypic behaviours are common in animals in impoverished housing, arising from two complementary processes: (1) thwarted attempts to perform motivated behaviours; (2) forebrain dysfunction impeding normal behavioural inhibition. When enriched animals are moved to impoverished...

Brilot, B. O., Asher, L., Bateson, M. 2010. Stereotyping starlings are more ‘pessimistic.’ Animal Cognition 13(5), 721–731.

Negative affect in humans and animals is known to cause individuals to interpret ambiguous stimuli pessimistically, a phenomenon termed ‘cognitive bias’. Here, we used captive European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) to test the hypothesis that a...

Rommeck, I., Anderson, K., Heagerty, A. et al. 2009. Risk factors and remediation of self-injurious and self-abuse behavior in rhesus macaques. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 12(1), 61-72.

Considered signs of decreased welfare--abnormal behaviors such as self-injury and self-abuse among nonhuman primates housed in the laboratory--may put into question the validity and reliability of scientific research using these animals as models. Providing environmental...

Major, C. A., Kelly, B. J., Novak, M. A. et al. 2009. Self-directed biting in male rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) with self-injurious behavior (SIB) increases following acute treatment with the anxiogenic drug FG7142. American Journal of Primatology 71(S1), 89. (32nd Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists Scientific Program, Abstract #182)

A small percentage of captive macaques spontaneously exhibit self-injurious behavior (SIB), mostly in the form of self-directed biting. Several risk factors have been identified in the etiology of SIB in monkeys, including exposure to early...

Gottlieb, D. H., Tatum, L., Ghirardo, S. et al. 2009. Assessment of efficacy of three types of foraging enrichment in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). American Journal of Primatology 71(S1), 33. (32nd Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists Scientific Program, Abstract #13)

Rhesus macaques housed indoors in captivity commonly display abnormal behaviors that are rarely seen in their wild counterparts. These behaviors include stereotypic behaviors and self-abuse. These behaviors are often seen as signs of poor welfare...