Animal Advocacy by the Numbers
From All-Creatures.org Animal Rights Activism Articles Archive

FROM

faunalytics
July 2016

Please read complete article, ANIMAL ADVOCACY BY NUMBERS for more details about companion animals... animals used in science... animals fished, hunted, trapped... animals used for food... animals in the wild... using statstics for animals.

But should animal advocates use these kinds of statistics externally, as a means to influence the people we’re trying to change? The answer is, almost never. Most people have relatively low numeracy (capacity for quantitative thought), which makes it especially hard for them to fully understand the scale of animal suffering. As a result, most people are also “scope insensitive.” As described by Stephan Dickert, “People spend more money to save an individual while at the same time being insensitive and apathetic to large losses of life.”

animals abused

During a talk at the national Animal Rights conference on July 8, I gave an overview of the numbers of animals that are impacted by human activity. I tried to provide the audience with a sense of scale when it comes to the potential capacity for animal suffering, including touching on the suffering of animals in the wild.

In our 15-year history, Faunalytics has always tried to remain mostly “issue agnostic.” That is, we’re willing to work with anyone who is sincerely trying to help animals and has an idea with a reasonable chance of success. That’s why we’ve been honored to help a wide variety of clients working on a range of important animal issues.

At the same time, we recognize that numbers matter. Scope and magnitude matter. Most of our independent work has therefore centered on the use of animals for food. The animals (and their byproducts) that end up on our plates represent more than 98% of the animals that suffer at human hands.

That’s why Faunalytics has taken a close look at veg*n advocacy. Our first major independent study (in 2005) focused on semi-vegetarianism and meat reduction. Our most recent research was on lapsed and current vegetarians. And we recently launched a new resource, “How to Make and Keep a Veg*n.”

But we think it’s worth taking a close look at the statistics associated with each major animal issue. Despite the magnitude of the numbers discussed below, it’s important to remember that these stats represent individual lives. In every case we’re talking about actual animals who are capable of thought, emotion, and pain.

Please read complete article, ANIMAL ADVOCACY BY NUMBERS for more details about companion animals... animals used in science... animals fished, hunted, trapped... animals used for food... animals in the wild... using statstics for animals.


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