Birds are widely used in research but, until recently, their suffering remained largely invisible to the public. For decades, birds “bred for use in research” were excluded from protections under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), which meant laboratories did not have to report how many were used. In February 2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture finalized regulations establishing welfare standards for birds not bred for use in research—a step forward in recognizing their protection—though reporting and transparency gaps remain¹.
The 2024 Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) reporting numbers, for the first time, labeled birds and included a tally of 88,872 in total used in research. This, finally, gives us a glance at the magnitude of the issue that we face with regards to the use of birds. Now that we understand the scope of what needs to be done, we can continue on our path to a world where animals are no longer used in labs and measure progress year-over-year.
The range of ways birds are used in research is well documented. Chickens are a classic model in immunology, virology, infectious disease, embryology, and toxicology research. Chicken embryos remain foundational in developmental biology²,³, while songbirds such as zebra finches are widely used in neuroscience to study learning and memory, with parallels to human speech and communication⁴. Chickens are also used to investigate prenatal exposures and the origins of neuropsychiatric disorders⁵. Classroom hatching projects in elementary through high schools are likewise not included in official counts, as they are considered educational rather than laboratory research. By contrast, the European Union requires reporting, and birds were used in over half a million procedures in 2020—one of the few groups of animals that saw an increase that year—making them the fourth most commonly used species after mice, fish, and rats⁶.
Like other animals in laboratories, birds can experience stress and suffering from confinement, handling, and invasive procedures. Signs of distress include feather-plucking, reduced feeding, lethargy, abnormal vocalizations, or self-injury. Wild birds studied in the field may face additional harm from trapping, restraint, or surgeries. In the U.S., husbandry and housing standards are set out in the AWA bird rule and the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. However, these standards often provide only minimal space, allowing little opportunity for flight or other natural behaviors. For example, zebra finches—highly social songbirds used widely in neuroscience—are often kept in small cages with only a few individuals, even though research shows that larger, enriched flight cages better support their health and behavior⁷,⁸. Although enrichment and social housing are recommended, they can be withheld for “scientific reasons,” leaving many birds confined to barren environments that fail to meet their physical and psychological needs.
While the extension of federal standards to birds not bred for research represents progress, many birds remain uncounted, and enforcement and reporting gaps persist. NAVS continues to advocate for replacing the use of all animals in science—including birds—with humane, human-relevant alternatives that advance both compassion and discovery.
REFERENCES
- USDA APHIS (2023). Animal Welfare Act Bird Standards.
- Frontiers in Physiology (2021). The chicken as a model in developmental biology.
- MDPI (2021). Avian models in aging and stress resistance.
- PMC (2014). Translational neuroscience: Songbirds as a model.
- MDPI (2022). Chick embryo model for neurodevelopment and prenatal exposure studies.
- European Commission (2020). Report on the statistics on the use of animals for scientific purposes.
- PMC (2012). An IACUC perspective on songbirds and their use in neurobiological research.
- PMC (2015). Proper care, husbandry, and breeding guidelines for the zebra finch.
