Applications for research in animal welfare

ASPCApro provides training, research, and resources to help animal welfare professionals save more lives.

The ASPCA invites applications for its research grants program, which funds high-quality research across a variety of disciplines and methods that have clear potential to benefit animals, either directly or through effecting systems-level change. This year, proposals are being solicited in the following five research areas:

Cruelty Research: Grants of up to $50,000 will be awarded in support of proposals that address animal cruelty from any angle or relevant discipline (e.g., public policy, law, criminal justice, criminology, veterinary forensics, community engagement, prevention/intervention, human behavior change). Of particular interest is research that analyzes the effectiveness of legislative and other policy measures designed to prevent and/or respond to cruelty. Also of interest is research that heightens awareness of animal cruelty and builds knowledge that informs and engages key community stakeholders and allied professionals in preventing and responding to the animal welfare issue. 

Access to Veterinary Care (AVC) Research: Grants of up to $50,000 will be awarded in support of proposals that address AVC from any angle (e.g., medical, legal, AVC impact, program delivery, community engagement, veterinary engagement). Ideally, the research will establish tools or guidelines to improve access to veterinary care.

Applied Behavior Research: Grants of up to $40,000 will be awarded in support of proposals that inform the development or refinement of evidence-based shelter behavior protocols. Proposed research should address specific behavior concerns in shelter populations that lead to euthanasia, rather than general management protocols. 

Psychological Trauma Research: Grants of up to $20,000 will be awarded in support of proposals related to developing novel approaches to the documentation of animal cruelty and neglect in the absence of physical trauma. Proposals are encouraged from any relevant discipline (e.g. physiology, psychology, ethology). Of particular interest is research that focuses on objective measures, including biomarkers and quantitative behavioral phenotyping.

Farm Animal Welfare Research: Grants of up to $30,000 will be awarded in support of research related to animal welfare conditions in the largest U.S. poultry industries, which produce broiler chickens, egg-laying hens, and turkeys.

Eligible applicants include investigators and/or research teams affiliated with U.S. public or private entities such as universities, colleges, government agencies, veterinary hospitals and clinics, animal welfare organizations, and other organizations.

For complete program guidelines and application instructions, see the ASPCA website.