We fund research that uses animals if it is legal, ethical and scientifically justified. All researchers and organisations we fund must comply with the guidelines outlined on this page.
Research that takes place in the UK must:
Research that takes place outside the UK must:
Researchers must still get the relevant regulatory approvals if they plan to collaborate with other laboratories or use a Contract Research Organisation (for example, contract out animal research). This is regardless of the species they use or where in the world they conduct the research.
Researchers don't need to have these approvals before they submit their grant application, but they must have them in place before they start their project.
If the research uses macaques, grantholders must get them from the MRC Centre for Macaques(opens in a new tab). This applies to any research carried out in the UK.
If a Wellcome grant is sub-awarded to another organisation that will carry out animal research as part of the project, that organisation must put processes in place to make sure that they comply with this policy.
This must include:
We use the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, which defines protected animals used in research as:
Read more information in the 'Protected animals' section of the Animal (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986(opens in a new tab).
The 3Rs(opens in a new tab) is a framework established for performing more humane animal research.
The National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) is the UK’s national organisation for the 3Rs. The centre defines the 3Rs as follows:
Applicants must meet the 3Rs standards if they plan to:
Applicants must include details about how they have considered replacing, reducing and refining the use of animals in their research. This should be done from the earliest stages of research design.
Applicants must:
They should develop their grant using the NC3R’s guidelines on the use of animals in research(opens in a new tab).
Researchers can also use the Experimental Design Assistant(opens in a new tab). This is a free online tool from NC3Rs to help with the design of their experiments. The outputs of this tool can be added as an appendix to the grant application.
We send grant applications to the NC3Rs for independent review if the research involves:
This is in addition to the expert peer review we ask for as part of the grant application process.
The relevant Wellcome advisory committee will consider the NC3Rs’ review when they assess the grant application.
If we award a grant, funding may be conditional on the applicant addressing any concerns raised by NC3Rs.
Read about the NC3Rs peer review process(opens in a new tab).
Grantholders must tell us if their use of animals changes during their grant. For example, if the number of animals they use is significantly more than the amount we funded.
This is a requirement of our grant conditions.
We may ask for more information if there is a significant overspend on animal costs.
Grantholders must contact Wellcome immediately if:
This policy was last updated in May 2020.
Contact our information officers if you have a question about funding.