Data and Statistics

Coming Soon: Year Five of HRC's Animal Tracker

HRC Admin — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:45:00 -0800

We’re getting ready to launch year five of HRC’s Animal Tracker annual survey of the public opinions and behavior of adults in the U.S. This year’s survey, which will field in March, addresses opinions toward various social movements, who people trust to provide information about animal welfare, opinions about the adequacy of animal protection laws, attitudes toward the importance of animal welfare in various situations, and the frequency with which people discuss animal protection issues. We asked the exact same questions in 2008 and 2009 and will be able to analyze changes over time. When the results are available in April, we’ll also refresh the Animal Tracker graphing tool so that the results will be easy to access and interpret.

Christmas Bird Count--Historical Data

Carol L. Glasser — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 08:45:00 -0800

The Christmas Bird Count is thought to be the longest running citizen survey, currently in its 112th year. Each year, between December 14th and January 5th, bird watchers in the US and Canada count birds in their area, recording numbers and species. The Audubon Society takes this data and manages it. This website allows for users to access that data, organizing it by region or species.

Major Uses of Land in the United States, 2007

Carol L. Glasser — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 08:45:00 -0800

Since 1945 the US government has surveyed how public and private land in the US is being used. This is the most recent report, which is published every five years, detailing land use as of 2007. Of particular relevance to animal advocates is the amount of land reserved for wildlife as well as pasture- and range-land for farmed animals.

Stray Cats in Auckland, New Zealand: Discovering Geographic Information for Exploratory Spatial Analysis

Carol L. Glasser — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 08:45:00 -0800

Researchers combined geographic information systems (GIS) technology and methods with data from local shelters about stray cat pick-ups to determine where large populations of stray cats live in Auckland, New Zealand. The areas with the highest density of stray cats were in Southern Auckland.

Food CPI and Expenditures: CPI for Food Forecasts

Carol L. Glasser — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 08:45:00 -0800

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) and proportion spend for various types of food in the U.S. is updated on a monthly basis by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This data reports how food expenditures break down by different food types. The CPI is one of the most widely used indicators of changes in retail prices, so this data can be useful for animal advocates who are working with restaurants to have more vegetarian options, among other possibilities.

The AP-Petside.com Poll

Carol L. Glasser — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 08:45:00 -0800

The AP-Petside.com Poll is an annual survey of people with companion animals. It asks questions about where companion animals were obtained, attitudes about adoption, number of companions in the household, and personal experience at shelters, among other questions.

Nationwide Scientific Survey Finds Continued Approval of Hunting, Fishing, and Shooting

Carol L. Glasser — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 08:45:00 -0800

This survey of U.S. adults investigated attitudes toward and experiences with hunting. It found a high level of acceptance for hunting among U.S. adults.

How Often Do Americans Eat Vegetarian Meals? And How Many Adults in the U.S. Are Vegan?

Carol L. Glasser — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 08:45:00 -0800

This representative survey of 1,010 U.S. adults evaluates how often people eat vegetarian meals and how many vegans there are in the U.S. The survey found that about 5% of the U.S. population is vegetarian, and about half of them are vegan.

Tales of Happy Reunions Boost Interest in Pet Microchipping

Carol L. Glasser — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 07:45:00 -0800

A 185% increase in microchipping of companion animals in the U.S. was reported in the weeks following the reunion of Willow, a cat lost in New York City, with her family in Colorado. The reunion was made possible by her being microchipped. Overall, microchipping is on the rise and better technology is being developed to help reunite lost companion animals and their humans.

In Defense of Humane Trends

Carol L. Glasser — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 10:24:35 -0800

In a recent review in ANIMAL PEOPLE, Merritt Clifton responded to the Humane Research Council’s Humane Trends study with questions regarding its validity and usefulness. We appreciate the feedback and are always open to improvement, but we are concerned that some of Mr. Clifton’s critiques were misdirected and that they undervalued the overall usefulness and importance of the Humane Trends study.