The majority of people do not feel knowledgeable about issues that affect the welfare of animals, with one exception. When it comes to animals kept as companions or pets.
LINDA TYLER: ‘Knowledge is important because most people need to be aware of an issue before they change their opinion or behavior. If people don’t know about the plight of animals in shelters or on farms or in laboratories, they are unlikely to be motivated to do anything about it. Tracking knowledge over time and comparing it by issue also helps animal advocates understand where awareness is increasing or decreasing.
The Faunalytics Animal Tracker gauges self-reported knowledge. Essentially, we ask people how knowledgeable they feel about different issues, a method that has limitations. A better approach to gauging knowledge would be to give people an actual test to measure what they know. This more in-depth approach is outside the scope of the Animal Tracker, but self-reported knowledge still provides insight into the minds of U.S. adults.
Following is the question that we ask every three years, most recently in April 2019: How knowledgeable do you feel about issues that affect the welfare of animals in the following circumstances? Animals in circuses and rodeos; Animals in laboratories; Animals in pounds and shelters; Animals in zoos and aquariums; Animals kept as companions/pets; Animals raised for food; Horses and dogs used in racing; Wildlife on public lands. (Scale: Very Knowledgeable; Somewhat Knowledgeable; Not Very Knowledgeable; Not at All Knowledgeable; Do Not Know).
The majority of people do not feel knowledgeable about issues that affect the welfare of animals, with one exception. When it comes to animals kept as companions or pets, almost three-quarters of respondents (74%) reported being knowledgeable (“very” or “somewhat”) about these animals’ welfare issues. Next highest was issues affecting animals in zoos and aquariums, with 50% of respondents asserting themselves as knowledgeable.
Only about 4 in 10 claim knowledge relating to issues affecting animals in pounds and shelters (46%), animals raised for food (45%), endangered species (42%), and wildlife on public lands (37%). The three lowest categories were issues affecting animals in circuses and rodeos (30%), horses and dogs used in racing (27%), and animals in laboratories (25%)…
The Animal Tracker knowledge question has been asked five times, most recently in 2019, but also in 2016, 2013, 2010, and 2008. Interestingly, in 2019 relative to 2016, self-reported knowledge went up in every category except one, where it remained the same (Animals in laboratories). In one case, the increase was 9 percentage points, a sizeable lift’. SOURCE…
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