Faunalytics is a group of people who care deeply about animals and have the skills to help animal advocates carry out their important work.
Our mission is to empower fellow animal advocates like you with access to the research, analysis, strategies, and messages that maximize your effectiveness to reduce animal suffering.
Inspired by Compassion
Faunalytics founder Che Green has always loved animals. He grew up with cats but also spent time with playing with dogs and watching wildlife. At parties, he would often hang out with animals that other people ignored.
Like many advocates, Che had a transformative experience. His was working in a salmon cannery in Alaska and was overwhelmed by the experience of “processing” dead fish. So he went on to become an activist, starting with saving whales. He joined the Northwest Animal Rights Network in Seattle and opposed the Makah whale hunt. Later he became the group’s co-coordinator.
Focused on Effectiveness
Che was an advocate nights and weekends. By day he was the research manager for a division of Microsoft. His work included managing focus groups to talk to customers and an ongoing opinion poll to track product usage. The data revealed better ways for Microsoft to market its products. But what Che really wanted was to identify the best strategies to help animals.
Working with Joe Haptas, a past director of the Northwest Animal Rights Network, Che sought to enhance the impact of grassroots animal groups nationwide. They envisioned a standard set of high-impact materials, such as brochures and ads. Any organization could customize and use them. They would be the most effective examples available. Groups wouldn’t duplicate each other’s efforts to create materials. They wouldn’t waste resources on things that didn’t work.
But they faced an unexpected challenge: there was no research about how people responded to different communications. No one really knew what worked. So Che and Joe, soon joined by Anthony Bellotti set out to do that research. They started by forming Faunalytics, then known as the Humane Research Council, in 2000.
Guided by Knowledge
The Fund for Animals was the first group to take advantage of our custom research services. We tested materials to persuade fur-wearers to avoid cruel coats. The effort produced valuable findings. Advocates thought chinchillas and rabbits were cute, but these animals did not appeal to women considering fur. Bobcats and coyotes were more persuasive given their resemblance to companion animals. Using the headline “Do you need her fur more than she does?” was good. But changing it to “She needs her fur more than you do” was better.
Other early projects included a survey of cardiologists for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and a poll of magazine recipients for the Animal Protection Institute (which merged with Born Free USA in 2007). Since these initial endeavors, Faunalytics has completed projects for clients spanning the full range of animal issues.
We have also launched breakthrough initiatives to help all advocates be more efficient and productive. The Faunalytics Fundamentals series, the Faunalytics Library, the Animal Tracker, and collaborative projects such as the lapsed vegetarian and vegan study bring advocates important new information. Our insight points people to the most promising strategies to help animals.
We have had a lot of success in the past twenty years, first as the Humane Research Council and now as Faunalytics. Our work has inspired other groups to make more effective advocacy a centerpiece of their efforts. Che and the Faunalytics team see this as an encouraging sign for the future of animal protection. The increasing focus on being more thoughtful advocates is a win for us, for the movement and especially for animals.