Poll Shows Majority Of Americans Support Animal Research
A 2005 poll sponsored by The Foundation for Biomedical Research (FBR) found significant support for “humane and responsible” animal research for medical progress.
According to the results of this poll, 40% felt that animal research’s contribution to human health care over the past few decades has contributed:
- A great deal (40%)
- A fair amount (36%)
- A small amount (9%)
- Not much at all (5%)
- Not sure (10%)
Respondents were also asked, “Which of the two following statements do you agree with more?” Below each statement are the respondent segments with the highest agreement levels for each respective statement: “Animal research is inhumane and unnecessary. Many lab animals endure painful experiments in cramped/dirty conditions. Animal research can be replaced with modern alternatives such as computer simulations and it can be dangerous, as results in animals are not comparable to those in humans.”
- Vegetarian (41%)
- Age 18 to 29 (35%)
- Black/Hispanic (35%)
- Democrat (34%)
- Income under $40k (33%)
- High school/less (32%)
- Animal rights org (37%)
“U.S. places strict regulations on treatment of research animals, scientific community is working hard to develop alternatives to animal research and already uses some alternatives. However, the most reliable tests use animals because they most closely duplicate complex interactions that occur in humans.”
- Income $75k and over (68%)
- Republican (68%)
- College grad (64%)
- Men (61%)
- Family helped by medical advances (60%)
According to the Foundation for Biomedical Research, these survey results are similar to those of a FBR poll conducted 25 years ago.