Animals in Used in Research in the USA

Animals Used in Research in the USA (1998 Report)

Each year the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), through its Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), compiles figures reported by research institutions concerning the number of animals they have used during that year. However, the data collected by the USDA are incomplete for several reasons:

facilities have not been required to disclose their use of rats, mice and birds, which account for an estimated 80 to 90 percent of all animals used. However, this may change pending legal and regulatory efforts.
Individual reports to the USDA often vary in the ways that animals used in research are categorized.

If one compares the USDA reports from different years, it is possible to mistakenly conclude that the total number of animals used each year is going up and down erratically. For example, the total went from 1.6 million in 1990 to 2.1 million in 1992 and then back down to below 1.3 million by 1997, and even lower last year.

But the number of animals reported depends on the different species counted that year and the total number of facilities reporting. In mid-1990, farm animals were added to the report, which accounted for much of the apparent increase in total animals used over the following two years. Such reclassification of animals, along with inconsistency in reporting, makes it difficult to compare total numbers from one year to the next.

The first chart below compares the most recent USDA numbers, for FY 1998, with the same figures 20 and 10 years ago. The second chart compares FY 1998 figures with the three previous years.

Long Term: Last 20 Years

FY	Dogs	Cats	Primates	Guinea Pigs	Hamsters	Rabbits	Farm Animal¹	Other Animals²	Total
1978	197,010	65,929	57,009	419,341	414,394	475,162		58,356	1,687,201
1988	140,471	42,271	51,641	431,457	331,945	459,254		178,249	1,635,288
1998	76,071	24,712	57,377	261,305	206,243	287,523	157,620	142,963	1,213,814

Short Term: Last Three Years

FY	Dogs	Cats	Primates	Guinea Pigs	Hamsters	Rabbits	Farm Animal	Other Animals	Total
1996	82,454	26,035	52,327	299,011	246,415	338,574	154,344	146,579	1,345,739
1997	75,429	26,091	56,381	272,797	217,079	309,322	159,742	150,987	1,267,828
1998	76,071	24,712	57,377	261,305	206,243	287,523	157,620	142,963	1,213,814

¹⁾Traditional farm animals used for research purposes have been reported only since 1990

²⁾This category includes other covered species not specifically stated in the regulations, such as bears, armadillos, squirrels, wild rodents, etc. It does not include noncovered species, such as rats and mice bred for laboratory use, frogs, lizards, birds, etc.