primates in animal studies

104,808 nonhuman primates resided in US research facilities in 2024

an overview of Reports on nonhuman primates living in research facilities in the united states

In July 2025, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA APHIS) posted a summary of 2024 Annual Usage Report Summaries for animals used in research.

How Animals Used in Research Are Categorized

Each USDA-registered research facility is required by the Animal Welfare Act to submit an Annual Report that documents its use of animals for research, testing, teaching and/or experimentation. The numbers reported may not be all-inclusive as some research facilities might not have reported in time for publication. The USDA APHIS reports are found here.

USDA Animal Care compiles these numbers into 5 categories, each based on a specific pain category. The categories are as follows:

Column B = Animals research facilities held but did not use for regulated activities
Column C = Animals research facilities used in activities that did not involve pain and did not administer pain-relieving drugs
Column D = Animals research facilities used in activities involving pain and administered pain relieving or similar drug
Column E = Animals research facilities used in activities involving pain or distress and for which administering pain-relieving drugs would adversely affect results
Total = Includes Columns B, C, D, and E

Nonhuman Primates in US Research Facilities

FY 2024

COLUMN B:
HELD, NOT USED

44,375

COLUMN C:
USED, NO PAIN

33,654

COLUMN D:
USED, PAIN MINIMIZED

25,547

COLUMN E:
PAIN, NOT MINIMIZED

1,232

TOTAL

104,808*

FY 2023

COLUMN B:
HELD, NOT USED

41,989

COLUMN C:
USED, NO PAIN

41,286

COLUMN D:
USED, PAIN MINIMIZED

23,306

COLUMN E:
PAIN, NOT MINIMIZED

1,231

TOTAL

107,812

FY 2022

COLUMN B:
HELD, NOT USED

43,303

COLUMN C:
USED, NO PAIN

44,270

COLUMN D:
USED, PAIN MINIMIZED

26,055

COLUMN E:
PAIN, NOT MINIMIZED

957

TOTAL

113,585

FY 2021

COLUMN B:
HELD, NOT USED

41,352

COLUMN C:
USED, NO PAIN

43,916

COLUMN D:
USED, PAIN MINIMIZED

26,703

COLUMN E:
PAIN, NOT MINIMIZED

1,6276

TOTAL

113,598

* “Excludes farm animals used for improving food or fiber”

Now, for the complete picture...

The Animal Welfare Act reports only protect warm-blooded species. Not included are rats and mice that are bred for research, even though they represent 90-95% of the animals used in research.

Under the U.S. Animal Welfare Act (AWA), birds bred for research were not covered until very recently. As of 2023, the USDA finalized rules extending AWA protections to birds not specifically bred for research. For the first time, the 2024 report include birds. Also, for the first time, it includes “other farm animals” and “other mammals.”

The Animal Usage Reports, also excludes cold-blooded animals, such as fish, reptiles, and amphibians. Thus an additional unknown unreported number of animals actually make up the full account of animals used or held in research facilities.

In addition, the Animal Welfare Act, and therefore the Annual Usage Report, excludes “farmed animals” raised for food or fiber or used in agricultural research, such as cows, goats, and pigs. So the pigs, sheep, and other farm animals quoted in the USDA annual reports are used for some other research purposes, whether surgical studies, biomedical studies, or something else.

Thus, the 775,297 in US research facilities in 2024 may only represent a small percent (about 10% or less) of the actual number of animals in research facilities for that year.