New Study Shows Growing Opposition to Animal Tests

Nearly Half of Adults Find Animal Testing 'Morally Wrong,' Say Researchers

For Immediate Release:
June 27, 2012

Contact:
Kaitlynn Kelly 202-483-7382

Norfolk, Va. -- A new study published in the spring 2012 issue of Contexts, the research magazine of the American Sociological Association, reveals significant increases in moral opposition to animal testing in the U.S. since 2001.

Researchers from the University of Alabama–Birmingham, Manhattanville College, and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) examined data collected in independent surveys by the Gallup organization from 2001 to 2011, in which approximately 1,000 American adults each year were asked whether they found "medical testing on animals" to be "morally acceptable" or "morally wrong." They found the following:

• In 2011, 43 percent of adults overall found medical testing on animals to be morally wrong, an increase of 10 percent since 2001.
• Among adults ages 18 to 29, opposition to medical testing on animals rose by 25 percent between 2001 and 2011, to a majority of 59 percent. Opposition increased modestly in other age groups.
• A majority of women—52 percent—also found medical testing on animals to be morally wrong, an increase of 12 percent since 2001. Women are now more than twice as likely as men to oppose the practice. Thirty-three percent of males opposed animal testing in 2011, a 9 percent increase.
• Opposition rose significantly among all political affiliations.

"This study clearly shows public opinion turning against cutting up, poisoning, and killing animals in experiments," says study co-author Justin Goodman, an associate director at PETA and adjunct instructor of sociology at Marymount University in Arlington, Va. "When nearly half of all those polled morally oppose animal testing, it's time for a serious re-evaluation of how public funds are spent in our nation's laboratories."

The study was weighted to ensure that the data were nationally representative. An earlier version of this study was presented at the 8^th World Congress on Alternatives and Animal Use in the Life Sciences in Montréal, where it received the Best Poster Award in the Public Accountability category.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.