ArticleAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI2022
Impact of Refinements to Handling and Restraint Methods in Mice.
Article in Animals : an open access journal from MDPI, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 9 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Lack of evidence for a consistent differential impact of tail and tunnel handling on markers of welfare in laboratory mice.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Evaluation of Sentinel-Free Soiled Bedding as a Replacement for Direct Sampling in PCR Detection of Rodent Pathogens during Quarantine.Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science : JAALAS · 2025Article
- Validation of a non-food or water motivated effort-based foraging task as a measure of motivational state in male mice.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2024Article
- 3R-Refinement principles: elevating rodent well-being and research quality.Laboratory animal research · 2024Review
- Pharmacological characterisation of the effort for reward task as a measure of motivation for reward in male mice.Psychopharmacology · 2023Article
- The 3Rs in Experimental Liver Disease.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2023Review
- Correction: Davies et al. Impact of Refinements to Handling and Restraint Methods in Mice.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2023Article
- Article
- Designing animal-friendly behavioral tests for neuroscience research: The importance of an ethological approach.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
There is increasing evidence that, compared to non-aversive handling methods (i.e., tunnel and cupping), tail handling has a negative impact on mouse welfare. Despite this evidence, there are still research organisations that continue to use tail handling. Here, we investigated handling for routine husbandry by three different methods: tail, cupping and tube in a relevant real-world scenario involving mice bred off-site. After transfer to the destination unit, mice were assessed for overt behaviours associated with anxiety and fear. Mice that experienced tail handling were less easy to handle, were more responsive to the box opening, and scored lower in a hand approach test. One barrier to non-tail handling methods is the current practice of restraining mice by the tail for procedures. We therefore next assessed whether a modified method for restraint that takes the animal from cupping to restraint without the use of the tail was associated with better welfare. This refined restraint method reduced overt signs of distress although we did not find any differences in corticosterone levels or anxiety-related behaviours. These findings suggest that avoiding tail handling throughout the animal's laboratory experience, including during restraint, benefits their welfare.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.