Animal Welfare Program

Animal Welfare Program is sponsored by Animal Welfare Institute. Supports projects that improve the welfare of animals, including marine life conservation efforts.

#### Supporting the implementation of refinements to improve the welfare of animals used in research AWI offers grants of up to US$8,000 toward the implementation of a refinement (e.g., purchase of equipment or staff training) that will improve the welfare of animals used in research. * The 2026 application cycle is now open and will close on October 11 at 11:59pm ET. * Grantees will be selected and notified in December.

_If you wish to be notified via email when the application cycle opens, please contact us at__implementationgrant@awionline. org__. You may remove yourself from the list at any time.

_ Use our online system to complete and submit the application form. The application requires the following documents: * Proposed budget and details * Curriculum vitae (CV) or resume * Letter of support from the host institution Preview the application form * This grant is open to residents of the United States or Canada, and the project must be conducted in the United States or Canada.

* Animal care staff, veterinarians, students, and researchers are welcome to apply. * Applicants can apply every year and will be equally eligible for funding even if they have received funding in previous years. Projects that were submitted but not selected for funding in previous years can be resubmitted.

* Applicants may submit more than one application per funding cycle. In most cases, however, AWI will fund no more than one project (through _either_ an Implementing Refinement Grant or aRefinement Research Award) per applicant per funding cycle. * The intent of this grant is to improve the lives of animals used in research above and beyond meeting their basic needs.

Requests for basic husbandry or medical care that should be provided de facto by the institution will not be eligible for funding. * Refinement requests for nontraditional research settings will require additional justification to be considered for funding. * Salaries or stipends are eligible for funding.

* As a policy, AWI will not fund the following: * Projects that inflict avoidable stress * Projects that require killing animals as part of the methodology or outcome measures * The purchase of animals * Indirect/overhead costs * Costs to disseminate results (e.g., conference expenses, publication fees) * As a Section 501(c)(3) nonprofit that is organized and operates to further our charitable mission, AWI reserves the right not to fund individuals who have a history of opposing AWI’s mission or Position Statement on Research and Testing with Animals, either as an individual or through organizational affiliation.

## What is the Review Process Like? * Applications are reviewed by two independent reviewers who are not affiliated with AWI. * Applications are anonymized by AWI before they are sent to the reviewers, and reviewers score each application independently (i.e., without input from the other reviewer or from AWI).

* Reviewers score applications based on the following criteria: * Compatibility with the grant’s aims, scope, and eligibility criteria * Impact with respect to magnitude of welfare improvement and number of animals affected * Feasibility/likelihood of success * Once reviewers submit their scores, AWI selects winners from the short list of highest-ranking projects based on reviewer feedback and fit with AWI’s mission and priorities.

The number of projects funded in any given year depends on funding availability. _If you are interested in being an independent reviewer, please contact us at implementationgrant@awionline. org.

Reviewers cannot submit project proposals for funding in the same year that they are reviewing. _ ## Additional Information * Grant recipients must agree to submit a 250-word summary and photograph(s) describing the refinement implementation process and results. This summary may be edited for potential publication, with the recipient’s approval, in the _AWI Quarterly_ magazine.

* If IACUC or ACC approval is needed, grant recipients will need to provide their approved IACUC or ACC protocol title and number before funds will be disbursed. _For additional information, please contact implementationgrant@awionline. org.

_ * **James Sheehy, animal facilities supervisor, IIT Research Institute**, to purchase and install stainless steel vertical socialization tunnels for the institute’s colony of long-tailed macaques, doubling their living space and adding vertical complexity.

* **Dr. Wai Hanson, senior clinical veterinarian and assistant professor, Emory University**, to purchase and install high-quality images of gravel—designed to mimic natural substrate—beneath 780 tanks housing some 13,000 zebrafish across two facilities. This simple, easy-to-implement refinement has been shown to reduce zebrafish stress levels.

* **Lillian Basom, director of operations, Franklin and Marshall College Vivarium**, to improve the facility’s rat housing, resulting in a fivefold increase in the current living space, enhancing its complexity and promoting the expression of natural behaviors such as climbing, upright standing, and play.

* **Cecily Burbidge, animal care and welfare supervisor, University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine**, to purchase high-quality nesting boxes and provide increased opportunities for exercise and enrichment for the institution’s colony of woodchucks.

* **Dr. Megan Ellis, clinical veterinarian, Purdue University; Dr. Julia Goldman, clinical veterinarian, Baylor College of Medicine; Melissa Marceau, animal health technician, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre; and Dr. Jennifer Mitchell, associate professor, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center**, to purchase tunnels for handling mice.

Tunnel handling is proven to be a more humane and less stressful alternative to the traditional practice of picking up mice by their tails. * **Dr. Diana Coulon of Pennington Biomedical Research Center** to purchase materials that allow rodents to climb and perch, encouraging species-specific behaviors and providing new places to explore and hide.

* **Ioan Cozma of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre** to purchase tree branches for marmoset cages to promote natural wood-gnawing behaviors. * **Joshua Ejdelman of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre** to purchase quieter and lower-vibration wheels for carts to reduce animal stress as they are transported within facilities.

* **Tania Liboiron of the University of Saskatchewan** to purchase large, double-decker cages with interlinking tubes and enrichment tools, such as activity wheels and huts, to offer rats social housing without overcrowding. * **Dr. Kerith Luchins of the University of Chicago** to purchase handling tunnels for mice and expand their use campus-wide to reduce animal anxiety and improve welfare.

Related Publication") * **Dr. Carly Moody of the University of California, Davis** to purchase elevated platforms and shelters for mice and create educational infographics about the benefits of these enrichment items. * **Dr. Vanessa Oliver of the University of Calgary** to purchase pens, toys, and shelters to implement an exercise program for rabbits institution-wide that will improve their physical and mental health.

* **Jenna Owens of Texas Biomedical Research Institute** to build cooperative enrichment items for singly housed primates, including tug-of-war units, puzzle feeders, and interactive touchscreen tablets, to encourage social interaction and play between animals housed next to each other.

* **Dr. Sarah Baert of the University of Guelph** for establishing a positive reinforcement training program that allows rats to live in a free-range system and be caught and handled easily. * **Dr. Courtney Glavis-Bloom of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies** for purchasing touchscreen computers to promote an enriching environment and measure cognitive decline in marmosets.

* **Anna Jimenez and Dr. Marie-Chantal Giroux of McGill University** for purchasing transparent handling tunnels as a less-stressful alternative to picking up mice by their tails.

* **Dr. Kathy Lapointe of the University of Montreal** for developing and implementing a physical therapy program to reduce muscle atrophy and increase psychological stimulation among cats, dogs, and horses used for teaching at the university’s veterinary school.

* **Rochelle Moore of the University of Utah** for purchasing a 3D printer to print custom caps that cover and protect cranial implants and surrounding tissue in rhesus macaques. * **Dr. Catherine Schuppli of the University of British Columbia** for purchasing larger cages and enrichment activities for rats and mice to engage in burrowing, climbing, and exploration.