Scale of funding for UK canine health research revealed
It is hoped the study will help shape future funding for canine research.
For the first time, the amount of not-for-profit funding provided in the UK for research into canine health and welfare has been revealed
Research carried out at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) found that £57.8 million was provided by 109 funders between 2012 and 2022, with the size of grants ranging from £300 to £2.3 million.
The study, funded by Battersea, Dogs Trust, The Kennel Club Charitable Trust (KCCT), and the Waltham Foundation, also looked at who provided the funding, who it was given to, and what it was spent on.
The figures revealed that the Dogs Trust was the largest funder from the animal health and welfare sector, providing £7 million in grants, followed by the KCCT (£4 million) and the PetPlan Charitable Trust (£2.8 million).
The research institutions which received the most funding were the University of Edinburgh (£10.3 million), the RVC (£7.6 million), and the University of Liverpool (£5.6 million).
The study found that 30 per cent of the total funding went on research projects which were explicitly or implicitly presented as One Health research, with work on rabies and antimicrobial resistance both receiving significant amounts of funding.
Thirty-five per cent of funding went on research that was primarily focused on dogs and 29 per cent on research that looked at dogs alongside one or more non-human species.
The researchers hope that the data will set a benchmark and help funders and researchers to enhance the effectiveness of how funding is distributed in future.
Dan O’Neill, associate professor in companion animal epidemiology at the RVC and co-author of the paper, said: “With around 11 million dogs currently estimated in the UK, this new study identifies that more than £5 per living dog has been invested in research over the past decade. This highlights both how much the UK public love their dogs but also how concerned we are about their health issues.”
Andrew Higgins, trustee of the KCCT, added: “It was exciting and rewarding to bring together dog charities to fund this important piece of work, which the KCCT was very happy to support. The original aim was to undertake a ‘gap analysis’ to see what work has been done specifically to benefit the dog and with a pathway to impact so as to inform future decisions.
“Funding should be proportionate to the frequency, importance and welfare implications of a disease or condition, and I am confident these results will be of significant help to funders and researchers in this important sector.”
The study has been published in the journal PLOS ONE.
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