Public Lukewarm On Animal Rights
Support for and opposition to animal rights in general and specific proposals for laws to regulate or ban certain activities involving animals.
71% of Americans feel that animals deserve at least some protection from harm and exploitation while 3% feel they need no protection, and 25% feel they deserve "the exact same rights as people to be free from harm and exploitation." 1% had no opinion.
9% of respondents ‘strongly support’ ‘banning all types of hunting,’ 13% ‘somewhat support’ the idea, 29% ‘somewhat oppose’ it, and 47% ‘strongly oppose’ it. Americans support passing strict laws concerning the treatment of farm animals, by 62% to 35%.
Medical testing on animals:
- Morally acceptable (63%)
- Morally wrong (33%)
- Depends on the situation (3%)
- Not a moral issue (*)
- No opinion (1%)
Buying and wearing clothing made of animal fur:
- Morally acceptable (60%)
- Morally wrong (36%)
- Depends on situation (2%)
- Not a moral issue (1%)
- No opinion (1%)
Cloning animals:
- Morally acceptable (29%)
- Morally wrong (68%)
- Depends on situation (1%)
- Not a moral issue (*)
Cloning humans:
- Morally acceptable (8%)
- Morally wrong (90%)
- Depends on situation (1%)
- Not a moral issue (*)
- No opinion (1%)
No trends were noted in attitude with respect to age.
By political party, Democrats and Independents were more likely to support animal rights than Republicans.
By gender, women are twice as likely as men to want the same rights for animal as people, and are generally more likely to support animal rights in each area more than men.