(10/13/10) -

Britons Call for Hunting Ban; Americans and Canadians Reject It

People in Britain are definitely more alarmed about animal cruelty than those in the United States and Canada, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.

A majority of respondents in the three countries believe killing animals for their fur is cruel.

People in Britain are definitely more alarmed about animal cruelty than those in the United States and Canada, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.

The online survey of representative national samples also found that respondents in the three countries overwhelmingly brand the actions of Mary Bale—who was caught tossing a cat into a garbage can in a video that went viral—as cruelty to animals.

Minimizing Pain and Suffering

At least three-in-five respondents in the three countries (CAN 66%, BRI 63%, USA 62%) agree with the statement: “There is nothing wrong with humans using animals for food, clothing, entertainment, and research, as long as unnecessary pain and suffering are minimized.”

What is Cruel?

When asked whether five specific actions amount to cruelty to animals, respondents in Britain are at odds with their American and Canadian counterparts. Four-in-five Britons (79%) believe killing animals for their fur amounts to cruelty to animals, compared to 64 per cent of Americans and 55 per cent of Canadians.

Britons are also more likely to describe using animals for entertainment as a cruel practice (35%) than those in Canada (29%) and the U.S. (25%), and to feel the same way about hunting animals for sport (BRI 81%, CAN 62%, USA 56%).

Respondents in the three countries were almost unanimous on the issue of dog fighting and cockfighting being a cruel practice (BRI 96%, CAN 94%, USA 91%), and less than one-in-five (USA 16%, BRI 14%, CAN 12%) believe eating animals amounts to animal cruelty.

Protecting Animals

When asked about the protection of specific animals, about a third of Canadians said their various levels of government are doing “too little” to protect wild animals (37%), animals bred or raised for their fur (35%), and laboratory animals (34%). The level of criticism for governments is slightly higher in the United States, and increases even more in Britain, where more than half of respondents (53%) say the various levels of government are doing “too little” to protect animals bred or raised for their fur.

Bans

Britons are also in a class of their own when presented with several proposed bans. Two-thirds of respondents in Britain (66%) would ban all types of hunting, compared to 35 per cent of Canadians and 25 per cent of Americans. Seven-in-ten Britons (71%) call for a ban on fur farming, compared to 50 per cent of Americans and 47 per cent of Canadians.

More than half of Britons (53%) would ban circuses that feature animals, a proposal that is not popular in Canada (37%) or the U.S. (23%). Respondents in Britain are also more likely to call for a ban on all types of product research on animals (51%) and all types of medical research on animals (40%). The notion of freeing all animals currently in captivity at zoos is only supported by about one-in-five respondents in the three countries.

The Mary Bale Video

Earlier this year, Mary Bale—a resident of Coventry, England—was caught on a closed circuit camera petting a cat before picking it up, tossing it into a garbage can and closing the lid. Bale was eventually charged with animal cruelty offences and will appear before Coventry Magistrates Court later this month.

After seeing the closed circuit footage, an overwhelming majority of respondents in the three countries (BRI 87%, CAN 86%, USA 77%) believe Bale’s actions amount to cruelty to animals. While more than half of respondents in the three countries believe a fine would be the appropriate punishment for the action depicted on the video (BRI 57%%, CAN 56%, USA 52%), about three-in-ten respondents think prison time would be adequate (BRI 29%, CAN 29%, USA 28%).

Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)

CONTACT:

Mario Canseco, Vice President, Communications & Media Relations
+877 730 3570
mario.canseco@angus-reid.com

Methodology: From September 8 to September 15, 2010 Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 1,006 Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panellists, 1,024 American adults who are Springboard America panellists, and 2,013 British adults who are Springboard UK panellists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 3.1 per cent for Canada and the United States, and 2.2% for Great Britain. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure samples representative of the entire adult population of Canada, the US and Great Britain. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.