The USDA has finally released most* of its 2024 Annual Reports for U.S. animal research facilities, and Rise has compiled and analyzed the data. (*The USDA has yet to post annual reports for at least 21 facilities listed as having “active” research registrations.)
Here’s what the available numbers tell us:
➡ In 2024, 1,014* animal research facilities reported exploiting 2,235,455 animals — a nearly 40% increase over the total reported in 2023.
This significant rise in total reported animals appears to stem largely from expanded reporting requirements and voluntary disclosures, rather than a definite rise in actual animal use. Notably:
➢ Birds not bred for research were newly required to be reported and accounted for 90,296 victims.
➢ Fish — still not required to be reported — were voluntarily listed by some labs under “Other Mammals” and totaled 1,346,785 victims.
➢ Animals categorized as “other” (i.e., animals other than dogs, cats, nonhuman primates, guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits, pigs not used for agricultural research, and sheep not used for agricultural research) made up approximately 75% of all animals reported.
Compared to 2023, the number of animals reported under “other” increased by roughly 75%. (But, because labs are still not required to report rats, mice, and birds bred for research, they are still believed to be reporting only about 1% of the animals they use.)
➡ When limiting the available data to species that are consistently required to be reported, total animal use decreased by approximately 13% from 2023 to 2024.
➡ Animals held for use in labs or used for breeding (Column B) more than doubled in 2024 compared to 2023. This increase was driven primarily by increases in guinea pigs, nonhuman primates, and “other” animals.
➡ Animals used in experiments involving pain or distress but denied anesthesia, analgesia, or tranquilizing drugs (Column E) showed mixed changes: numbers decreased significantly for cats and nonhuman primates but increased significantly for rabbits and sheep.
The available 2024 Annual Reports reflect some encouraging changes but also underscore the persistent lack of comprehensive data.
While the reported use of several traditionally tracked species (including dogs, cats, nonhuman primates, rabbits, and guinea pigs) declined, expanded reporting contributed to the overall number of reported animals rising sharply — as a result, it remains unclear whether total animal use is increasing, decreasing, or simply shifting to unregulated species.
We must demand better.
**If you have any questions about the data or are interested in additional figures, please email us at humans@riseforanimals.org.
Your call to action: Demand more transparency of government-funded animal laboratories. Urge your U.S. members of Congress to support the Federal Animal Research Accountability Act of 2025 (H.R. 3295). This bill aims to finally force the NIH to collect the number of animals bred, used, and killed by NIH-funded labs — and to make that data public.
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