Animal Tracker – Year 6

Year 6 of this survey of U.S. adults’ attitudes and behavior toward animals found that, while knowledge of animals other than companions is limited and perceived impact of animal advocates is modest, most people believe it is important to protect all animals and support advocacy goals.

Year 6 Results in Brief:

• Knowledge – With the exception of companion animals, a majority of U.S. adults say they are “not very” or “not at all” knowledgeable about animal issues, with respondents being least knowledgeable about animals in laboratories and those in circuses/rodeos.
• Importance – When asked about eight different personal choices, a majority of U.S. adults say they believe the protection of animals is “very” or “somewhat” important. Protection is perceived to be most important when getting a new pet and buying food.
• Attitudes – Responses to the attitudinal statements about animals were positive in most cases, with a majority of U.S. adults agreeing that animals are capable of thought and emotion and that protecting endangered species should be a priority.
• Movement’s Impact – About four in ten U.S. adults think that the animal protection movement has had a “moderate” or “significant” impact on the nation’s policies.
• Movement’s Goals – More than two-thirds of U.S. adults support the specific advocacy goal to “minimize and eventually eliminate all forms of animal cruelty and suffering.”