Animals in research: updated guidelines and greater transparency

To ensure alignment with the highest international scientific and ethical standards, the SNSF regularly reassesses its guiding principles. In 2025, the SNSF therefore clarified its expectations regarding the responsibilities of scientists when submitting proposals for projects involving animals.

It places even greater emphasis on the importance of considering whether the proposed animal experiments are necessary when assessing the scientific quality of projects. The new guidelines also lay out the legal framework within which the SNSF intends to contribute to the overall objective of reducing the use of animals in research to a strict minimum, and the corresponding measures it intends to take.

New guidelines and checklists

The new guidelines are set out in detail in "Principles and Practices for Research Involving Animals". This document is accompanied by checklists to help applicants, experts and evaluation committees during the application and scientific evaluation processes.

The responsibilities of the various parties involved remain unchanged: The SNSF’s evaluation committees judge the scientific excellence of the project, while the cantonal animal experimentation committees remain responsible for weighing the interests of the suffering inflicted on the animals against the expected benefits of the results. Ultimately, it is the veterinary authorities who decide, on the basis of the committees’ recommendations, whether or not an experiment may be carried out. The SNSF will only release funds for a project once it has been verified that the required authorisations have been obtained.

A new look for the web page

In order to continue to provide the public with transparent information, the SNSF has also updated its web page on animals in research. Published in the first half of 2026, this new version aims to present clearer, more structured information.

In addition to a general contextualisation of the SNSF’s position towards research projects involving animals, it contains four sections. They address the need for animal research, the strict Swiss legislation in this field, the SNSF’s commitment that goes beyond the legal minimum – including the new guidelines – as well as statistics. The new page also provides numerous links to external sources for those wishing to explore certain aspects in greater depth.