Mouse

Ethological constraints and welfare-related bias in laboratory mice: Implications of housing, lighting, and social environment

Laboratory mice are the most widely used model organisms in biomedical and behavioral research, yet growing concerns regarding reproducibility and translational validity have highlighted the substantial influence of housing and husbandry conditions on experimental outcomes. Although domestication is often assumed...

Year Published: 2026Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Husbandry & Management, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Török, H. K., Bárdos, B. 2026. Ethological constraints and welfare-related bias in laboratory mice: Implications of housing, lighting, and social environment. Animals 16(2).

Report of the 2024 RSPCA/UFAW rodent welfare group meeting

The RSPCA/UFAW Rodent Welfare Group has held a one-day meeting every autumn for the last 31 years. These meetings provide an opportunity for members to discuss current welfare research, exchange views on welfare issues and share their experiences of the...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Animal Training, Drug/Substance Administration, Environmental Enrichment, Handling, Housing, Husbandry & Management, Imaging & Electrophysiological RecordingAnimal Type: Mouse, Rabbit, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Stevens, C., Robinson, E., Jackson, M. et al. 2025. Report of the 2024 RSPCA/UFAW rodent welfare group meeting. Animal Welfare and Technology 4(3), 219–226.

Small changes, big differences: Collaborative refinements in animal research

Our unit opened in 2017, during the procurement of new equipment we had the opportunity to purchase a digital ventilated rack system from Tecniplast UK. The cages are referred to as the Digitally Ventilated Cage or DVC. This system uses...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Drug/Substance Administration, Surgery & Post-OpAnimal Type: Mouse, Rabbit, Rodent

Citation: Onions, L., WIlkinson, G. 2025. Small changes, big differences: Collaborative refinements in animal research. Animal Technology and Welfare 24(3), 239–240.

Prevalence and management practices of ophthalmic lesions in laboratory mice

The regular inspection of the eye health is an essential part of the veterinary care task in an animal facility in order to achieve robust results during experimentation. The aim of the study was to find out, when and how...

Year Published: 2026Topics: Husbandry & Management, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Matzek, D., Rumpel, S., Kassumeh, S. et al. 2026. Prevalence and management practices of ophthalmic lesions in laboratory mice. Scientific Reports 16(1), 8732.

Refinements in diabetic research – a technician led initiative

A genetically altered diabetic mouse model (Ins2akita) was introduced to the facility two years ago. From information available, it was expected that heterozygous animals would develop hyperglycaemia, hyperinsulinemia, polydipsia and polyuria by 3 to 4 weeks old with males exhibiting...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Disease/Experimental ModelAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Hill, C., Lyons, C. 2025. Refinements in diabetic research – a technician led initiative. Animal Welfare and Technology 24(3), 254–256.

Environmental exposure to the common trunk of mammalian appeasing pheromone modulates social behavior and reduces fight wounds in male mice

Aggression among group-housed male laboratory mice poses significant challenges for animal welfare and scientific outcomes. Semiochemicals, such as mammalian appeasing pheromones, have shown potential in modulating social behaviors in various species. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Abnormal/Problematic Behavior, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Fuochi, S., Bienboire-Frosini, C., Descout, E. et al. 2025. Environmental exposure to the common trunk of mammalian appeasing pheromone modulates social behavior and reduces fight wounds in male mice. Animals 15(22).

Adaptation of the Animal Welfare assessment grid (AWAG) model to monitor laboratory rats and mice

The Animal Welfare assessment grid (AWAG) is a cloud based online tool designed to assess and monitor the welfare and cumulative lifetime experience of animals. It has been successfully used to monitor the wellbeing of animals from an experimental, zoological,...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Cunningham, A., Wolfensohn, S., Dennis, M. et al. 2025, December. Adaptation of the Animal Welfare assessment grid (AWAG) model to monitor laboratory rats and mice. Animal Technology and Welfare 4(3), 199–211.

An assessment of paper pulp dishes for safe and enriching diet delivery

It is common practice for laboratory animals to be provided with diet in the form of wet mash or gel for various situations such as post-weaning and postoperative recovery. This study tested the use of paper pulp dishes as a...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Bull, C., Langford-Jackson, L., Rawlings, L. et al. 2025. An assessment of paper pulp dishes for safe and enriching diet delivery. Animal Technology and Welfare 24(3), 282–286.

A rational approach of early humane endpoint determination in a murine model for cholestasis

Reduction of animal suffering during in vivo experiments is usually ensured by continuously monitoring the health status using a score sheet and by applying humane endpoints. However, most studies do not evaluate the plausibility of score sheets and do not...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Disease/Experimental Model, Humane EndpointAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Zhang, X., Kumstel, S., Tang, G. et al. 2020. A rational approach of early humane endpoint determination in a murine model for cholestasis. ALTEX 37(2), 197-207.

A review of pain assessment methods in laboratory rodents

Ensuring that laboratory rodent pain is well managed underpins the ethical acceptability of working with these animals in research. Appropriate treatment of pain in laboratory rodents requires accurate assessments of the presence or absence of pain to the extent possible....

Year Published: 2020Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Chinchilla, Gerbil, Guinea Pig, Hamster, Mouse, Other Rodent, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Turner, P. V., Pang, D. S., Lofgren, J. L. 2019. A review of pain assessment methods in laboratory rodents. Comparative Medicine 69(6), 451–467.