Animal Welfare Professionals

July 31 is the deadline for applications for research grants from the ASPCA! Learn more here. 

ASPCA research grants develop cutting-edge knowledge in animal welfare. We fund high-quality research across a variety of disciplines and methods that has clear potential to benefit animals, either directly or through effecting systems-level change. Proposals to extend studies focused on other disciplines (e.g., public health, economics, crime data analysis) to include animal welfare in substantive ways will also be considered if they can clearly demonstrate potential benefits to animals.

This year we are soliciting proposals in the following four research areas:

Access to Veterinary Care (AVC) Research: 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 that veterinary professionals and organizations can use to improve access to veterinary care.

Applied Behavior Research: proposals that inform the development or refinement of evidence-based shelter behavior protocols. Research that addresses common behavior concerns in shelter populations that lead to euthanasia is of particular interest.

Cruelty Research: proposals that address animal cruelty from any angle (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 this animal welfare issue.

Psychological Trauma Research: 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.