Measuring the Progress of Animal Protection

HRC's New "Key Indicators" Study

A new collaborative study from the Humane Research Council that proposes to
evaluate the status of animal protection in the U.S.

WHAT DOES PROGRESS LOOK LIKE?

Animal advocates are making significant headway in our pursuit of a more humane world. The progress is evident from public opinion surveys, recent ballot initiatives, and consumer advocacy campaigns. But are we winning the war or just a few key battles? The extent to which conditions for animals are improving is unclear, and further research is needed to answer this question. Advocates in the U.S., the largest animal-consuming nation in the world, must collectively do more to evaluate the status of the animals we seek to help.

That's why the Humane Research Council (HRC) is initiating a revolutionary new study to evaluate the state of animal protection in the U.S. based on a diverse set of key indicators. This new study will go hand-in-hand with HRC’s current research that evaluates public opinion. HRC’s Animal Tracker, now in its second year, is a survey of animal-related opinions and behavior. This new "Key Indicators" study will complement the Animal Tracker by collecting information that cannot be obtained from public opinion surveys – including data from government, academic, and industry sources – to provide a comprehensive understanding of the status of animal protection.

The Key Indicators study involves essential research that will measure the momentum of animal protection over time, both for the U.S. overall and for a set of specific and important individual metrics. In most cases, the study will not be able to distinguish between the efforts of animal advocates and other factors. But advocates can still learn much by understanding both where we’re at and where we’re going. In short, this new study proposed by HRC will help advocates understand whether or not the status of animals in the U.S. is improving.

WHAT WILL THIS STUDY LOOK LIKE?

The new study will be modeled on a similar project by the United Kingdom’s Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), entitled "The Welfare State: Measuring Animal Welfare in the UK." This study has become an essential tool for advocates in the UK to understand how they are progressing on a variety of important areas of animal protection. For the U.S., HRC will evaluate a diverse set of key indicators covering a wide range of animal issues and track both positive and negative changes in those metrics over time.

Similar to the RSPCA’s approach, the HRC study will include a set of "generic" indicators that describe the overall progress for animal protection in the U.S. For instance, the amount of discussion generated by animal issues in the media or the number of new animal protection laws that are passed both provide an overall sense of progress when combined with other indicators. We will also identify metrics for specific areas of animal protection, including items like the number of farmed animals slaughtered or the number of hunters per capita.

The Key Indicators study will identify metrics and collect data for each of the following main areas of animal protection:

• Farm animals
• Research animals
• Companion animals
• Wildlife and exotics
• General indicators

The indicators selected will include a variety of metrics relating to the full span of animal protection issues. Together, they will provide a clear picture of the overall state of animal protection in the U.S. More importantly, this study will help animal advocates gain some understanding of progress over time and establish meaningful benchmarks for the future. For further examples of possible metrics, refer to the details of the RSPCA study here (Note: not all of the same data will be available in the U.S.).

SUPPORT COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH!

As of October 2009, HRC is very pleased to announce that we have fully funded the initial phase of the Key Indicators study, thanks to the generous sponsorship of nine animal protection organizations and contributions from a number of individuals. Thank you!

Of course, HRC will continue to accept donations to support this study, which will require additional time and resources to update as new data becomes available. Please donate to help us maintain this important study for years to come, to give advocates a long-term perspective of the changing status of animals in the U.S.

Questions? Please don't hesitate to contact us for more information.