Animal Welfare or Living Conditions

We hear a lot these days about the power of "telling stories" to persuade people to change their attitudes, to donate, etc. Although I'm a big fan of data and hard numbers, there's good evidence that they do not make compelling outreach material for most audiences. This may be particularly true for animal issues, where the number of animals on farms and in shelters and laboratories is staggeringly high and difficult for many people to comprehend.

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.

Regular readers of this blog know that I am an advocate of in vitro meat and believe it holds the promise to dramatically reduce animal suffering by removing most farm animals from the equation. Another approach would seek to genetically alter animals to remove or limit their ability to experience pain. While laudable in its intent, however, this is a pretty frightening concept, in part because it suggests that animal suffering is only physical in nature, ignoring the mental anguish suffered by animals.