Canadians and Americans Differ on Issues Related to Animals

While residents of both countries hold similar views on animals as food, Canadians are more likely to oppose zoos and aquariums.

Vancouver, BC [September 22, 2020] – The perceptions of residents of Canada and the United States on animals are similar when it comes to food, but vary greatly on entertainment, fur and trophy hunting, a new two-country Research Co. poll has found.

In the online survey of representative national samples, 76% of Canadians and 75% of Americans are in favour of eating animals.

About two thirds of respondents in the two countries (65% in Canada and 67% in the United States) are in favour of hunting animals for meat.

While only 8% of Canadians endorse trophy hunting, the proportion rises to 25% in the United States.

“Residents of Canada and the United States establish a clear difference between hunting animals for meat and hunting animals for sport,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “Still, while fewer than one-in-ten Canadians are in favour of trophy hunting, the proportion of Americans who consent to this practice is significantly higher.”

While almost two thirds of Americans (64%) favour keeping animals in zoos or aquariums, only 39% of Canadians share this point of view.

More than three-in-five American men (66%) and American women (61%) support keeping animals in zoos or aquariums. In Canada, 47% of men favour this practice, along with 33% of women.

The use of animals in rodeos is endorsed by almost half of Americans (46%) but only one third of Canadians (32%).

In Canada, 49% of Albertans are in favour of using animals in rodeos. Support for the practice is lower in Manitoba and Saskatchewan (39%), Atlantic Canada (36%), British Columbia (33%), Quebec (27%) and Ontario (24%).

In the United States, residents of the Midwest are more likely to favour the use of animals in rodeos (51%) than those in the South (47%), West (45%) and Northeast (39%).

Only one-in-four Americans (25%) and one-in-five Canadians (19%) are in favour of killing animals for their fur.

In Canada, support for killing animals for their fur is highest in Atlantic Canada (30%), followed by Saskatchewan and Manitoba (26%), Alberta (20%), Quebec (19%), Ontario (16%) and British Columbia (12%).

Methodology:

Results are based on online studies conducted from September 4 to September 6, 2020, among representative samples of 1,000 adults in Canada and 1,200 adults in the United States. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian and U.S. census figures for age, gender and region in each country. The margin of error—which measures sample variability—is +/- 3.1 percentage points for Canada and +/- 2.8 percentage points for the United States.

Find our Canadian tables here, our American tables here and download the press release here.

For more information on this poll, please contact:

Mario Canseco, President, Research Co.
778.929.0490
[e] mario.canseco@researchco.ca