NAVS is first to compile and release new USDA data, including bird use for the first time.
For decades, the public has lacked a full picture of how many animals are used in research and testing across the United States. That changed in a meaningful way this year.
Thanks to a long-overdue policy shift, 2024 marks the first time that laboratories were required to report the number of birds used in research, teaching, and testing—something NAVS and our allies have fought for over many years.
NAVS is proud to be the first organization in the nation to compile and release these updated numbers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). And there’s reason for cautious optimism: When bird data is excluded for an apples-to-apples comparison, the total number of animals used in 2024 dropped nearly 10% compared to the previous year.
Why This Matters
At NAVS, we believe in a future where science advances without harming animals. But we can’t change what we can’t see—and for too long, the government’s reporting on animal use has been incomplete, inconsistent, and inaccessible to the general public.
That’s why our team reviews these dense, technical reports every year—compiling and analyzing them, bringing transparency to the system, and ensuring that the public has access to information that can fuel smarter advocacy and policymaking. This work directly supports our mission: to end the exploitation of animals in science through education, advocacy, and the advancement of humane alternatives.
2024 Animal Use: By the Numbers
In total, 776 research facilities reported using 851,898 animals. For the first time, this total includes 88,872 birds—an important but still incomplete picture, as purpose-bred birds (as well as mice, rats, fish, and cold-blooded animals) remain excluded from reporting requirements.
Without birds, the adjusted total for 2024 is 763,026 animals—down from 844,915 in 2023, a decline of nearly 10%.
Use decreased across nearly every major category:
- Guinea pigs: -26.8%
- Dogs: -9.5%
- Cats: -14.3%
- Rabbits: -11%
- Nonhuman primates: -3.6%
- Hamsters: -11.3%
- Pigs: -13%
- Sheep: -6%
The only reported increase was in the “Other animals” category, which rose by 5.7% to 200,762 animals.
Also of concern, 56,601 animals were subjected to painful or distressing experiments without pain relief—a deeply troubling statistic that demands urgent attention and reform.
“It’s encouraging to see a nearly 10% drop in animal use last year, especially among guinea pigs, pigs, and cats,” said Meredith Blanchard, NAVS senior manager of policy and advocacy. “But with nearly 57,000 animals subjected to unrelieved pain and more than 100,000 primates still in labs, our work is far from done. We must keep pressing for the use of humane, human-relevant methods to drive these numbers down even further.”
NAVS urges researchers, regulators, and the public to use these findings to further efforts to replace animal experimentation with ethical, effective alternatives. The organization remains optimistic that recent legislative wins—such as humane cosmetics testing bans—and growing investment in non-animal methods by agencies like the NIH and FDA will continue to reduce animal use in the years ahead.
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