Refinement in laboratory rodent care means modifying husbandry and experimental procedures to minimize pain, distress, and suffering while maintaining scientific validity.
Laboratory rodents are sentient beings capable of experiencing fear, pain, and chronic stress. Standard husbandry practices such as tail handling, barren caging, and social isolation cause measurable distress. Refinement techniques including positive reinforcement training, group housing where feasible, and appropriate pain relief both improve animal welfare and produce more reliable, reproducible scientific results.