Legislation, Voting, Political Candidates

Wave 3 of HRC's Animal Tracker, slated for early next year, will survey a representative sample of adults in the U.S., addressing questions like knowledge of various animal issues, the influence of concern for animals on personal choices, perceived impact of the animal protection movement, and support for the movement's goal of eliminating animal suffering. We'll also be able to compare the results with findings from the baseline survey, which was conducted in early 2008.

HRC recently announced our latest collaborative research study designed to measure the progress of the U.S. animal advocacy movement. Supported by both organizational sponsors and contributions from individuals, the new study is a truly collaborative project designed to inexpensively gather reliable data. The new study will be on ongoing resource showing the status of animal protection in the U.S. according to a set of "key indicators." To learn more, please read our email to HRC's supporters...

Earlier this year, the Humane Society of the U.S. and the Humane Society Legislative Fund released a "Change Agenda for Animals," which provides a framework for federal action on animal issues. The document lists 100 points detailing meaningful and achievable changes for animals and also calls on the Obama administration to create two new positions related to animal protection. Interestingly, several of those points request the administration to conduct research to collect data to help identify issues and inform policy decisions.

In this blog post, I cover the fifth and final part of Kim Stallwood's presentation at the Minding Animals Conference, which is serialized at grumpyvegan.com. According to Stallwood, the key animal rights challenge "is to establish the moral and legal status of animals as a public policy issue." In the United Kingdom, they are arguably far ahead of the animal protection movement in the U.S., where animal issues are only recently being taken seriously. Here Stallwood outlines a blueprint for achieving recognition of animals in the political realm.

This blog post discusses the fourth installment of Kim Stallwood's presentation at the Minding Animals Conference in London (serialized on grumpyvegan.com). Stallwood continues his analysis of the animal rights movement by reviewing it in the broader context of five stages that he believes are common to all social movements. He then translates the five stages into the specific example of opposition to hunting in Britain.