Pet Ownership and Adults' Views on the Use of Animals

Pet Ownership

The majority of survey respondents (63%) own a pet. The most popular pets are dogs, cats, and fish. People who are more likely to have a pet include married people, younger people, those with children in the household, and those living in a detached home.

Attitudes toward Animal Use

Survey respondents were generally more concerned about activities that usually lead to an animal's death or injury (e.g., hunting, dog fighting, medical research) than those that did not (e.g., dog shows, zoos, circus, horse racing). Children and adults showed similar views on these issues.

Adults and children disapprove most strongly of the practice of dog fighting, which was the only illegal animal use included in the study. The vast majority of adults (87%) are opposed to both fox and deer hunting, although other studies conducted in North America revealed lower concerns about hunting.

Pet ownership is related to attitudes about the use of animals in medical research, with pet owners more likely to disagree with animal testing than non-pet owners. There was no difference in attitudes of pet and non-pet owners with respect to non-medical research; both disapprove of this use.

Ownership of specific types of pets had some influence on attitudes toward some animal uses, especially regarding the use of animals similar to those owned. Also, age may influence an individual's attitudes toward the use of animals; the presence of a pet within a household may influence the owner's perception of animal welfare, with younger owners appearing to be more positively influenced than older owners.

Although demographic factors including gender, age, and pet ownership were found to be correlated to people's attitudes toward the use of animals, in total they accounted for only about 1% of the variance in attitudes. The primary factor was the type of animal use under consideration.