The use of animal models is vital in retinal research, including the better understanding of disease mechanisms as well as the development and pre-clinical testing of novel therapies. A wide variety of animal models are used in retinal research, but mice and rats form the majority. Although rodent models have greatly improved our understanding of the pathogenesis of human retinal diseases and have proven to be useful for discovering targets for therapeutic drugs, they sometimes do not mimic the human disorders completely. In contrast, major advances in this area have been made in recent years when using large animal models such as monkeys, dogs, cats, and pigs. In this Workshop, which is organized by the ARVO Animals in Research Committee, the audience will be updated on the application and translational aspects of the use of large animal models in retinal research.