Harris Poll: More Men Than Women See Carousels as Romanticizing the View that Horses Exist for Human Use 

For Immediate Release:
December 29, 2025

Contact:
Nicole Perreira 202-483-7382

A newly released Harris Poll survey of over 2,000 U.S. adults commissioned by PETA has found that men are nearly 46 percent more likely than women to agree that animal-themed carousels normalize the use of horses for entertainment (think rodeos, racing)—with nearly a third of men saying that carousel horses romanticize the idea of human exploitation of horses. In response, PETA is calling on compassionate men to bring others around and impart the idea that horses are worth more than their utility value and are worthy of respect and understanding.

The survey comes after PETA requested that Chance Rides, the largest manufacturer of amusement rides in the country, end the production and sale of animal-themed carousels in favor of ones with airplanes, rockets, or rainbows, pointing out that real animals used for rides are controlled via bits in their mouths, forced to carry people on their backs, and kept alone in stalls, deprived of almost everything natural and important to them as social herd animals—and that changing the way people treat animals starts by changing the way people think about animals, including seeing depictions of them that are not respectful.

“It may come as a surprise that men in particular are getting up to speed on how horses aren’t living taxis but thinking, feeling individuals,” says PETA Founder Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA is urging them to share with their partners and children why these archaic mechanical menageries belong in a history museum.”

PETA notes that horses have exceptional long-term memories, elephants mourn each other’s deaths, and camels express their feelings with groans, moans, and roars. Animals used for rides and other forms of entertainment are often confined in deplorable conditions, whipped, beaten, and even slaughtered once they’re too sick, old, or worn out to be considered useful to humans.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment or abuse in any other way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

Survey Method:

This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of PETA from November 24 – 26, 2025 among 2083 individuals aged 18 and older. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval.  For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 2.5 percentage points using a 95% confidence level.