The physical and social environment in which laboratory animals are housed has important consequences for the welfare of the animals and the quality of the experiments. A large number of refinements can been applied to improve the living conditions of laboratory animals, but the real impact of these interventions on animal welfare remains to be determined.

In a new article, Vikki Neville and colleagues from University of Bristol conducted a mapping review of > 1,000 studies investigating potential refinement strategies for the housing and husbandry of laboratory rats. The review process identified interventions that are likely to improve rat welfare, but also showed that a number of factors, such as age, sex and strain, could influence the effectiveness of the refinement strategies.

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