Petsavers funds cricual clinical research designed to advance our knoweldge of conditions affecting small animals and with potential to relieve illness and suffering. Our project are selected in the hope that study results will have a rapid and positive impace on the way diseases are diagnosed, managed and treated in general practice as well as at a specialist level.

There are currently two types of Petsaver’s Grants: 

 A project will be considered by Petsavers to constitute 'small animal clinical research' if it meets most of the following criteria:

• The study involves only naturally occurring disease in small animals; there must be no experimental or artificial induction of disease.

• The anticipated results of the study will result in a change in diagnosis or management of small animal disease.
   
• The study is supervised by people with veterinary clinical skills and knowledge.
   
• Any interventions on animals (including obtaining samples) would be considered part of normal veterinary practice.
   
• Applicant must state how the results will directly benefit cats, dogs or other companion animals. If the benefit is not direct, they must suggest how many further steps (and at what cost) they believe it will take before a benefit becomes apparent.

By definition, therefore, such research would not require a personal or project licence under the terms of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. Petsavers does not fund research using experimental animals.

The CRP's preferred by Petsavers GAC may be broadly categorized as follows:

• Prospective investigations: usually quantitative studies with finite objectives, often utilizing modern science such as epidemiology or molecular biology as research tools.

• Multidisciplinary investigations: exploring biological mechanisms that underlie disease processes and the means by which these might be manipulated to improve diagnosis and management.

• Clinical trials: conducted to assess the efficacy of diagnostic techniques or therapeutic agents.