TWO-THIRDS OF CANADIANS DO NOT BELIEVE IN HORSE SLAUGHTER FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION
Vancouver,
BC, May 27, 2004 (iFH) — According to a new Ipsos-Reid poll conducted on behalf of B.C.
based TRACS, “The Responsible Animal Care Society”, two-thirds
(64%) of adult Canadians “do not believe in the slaughter of
Canadian horses for human consumption”.
Poll respondents
were told “Government statistics show that in 2003 more than 61,000
horses were slaughtered in Canada for human consumption or shipped
out of the country for the same purpose.”
One-in-three
(33%) adult Canadians say they “do believe in the slaughter of
Canadian horses for human consumption”. Three percent have no
opinion on this issue.
Regional and demographic differences
included the following:
A slight majority of Quebec residents
say they “believe” in the slaughter of Canadian horses for human
consumption (53% believe vs. 47% do not believe). A majority of
residents from other provinces “do not believe” in the slaughter
of Canadian horses for human consumption (77% Atlantic, 73% Ontario,
69% British Columbia, 62% Alberta, 56% Manitoba/Saskatchewan).
A
majority of residents in all other socio-economic and demographic
groups “do not believe” in the slaughter of Canadian horses for
human consumption. Opposition to the slaughter is higher amongst
women (73% vs. 55% men), younger residents (69% 18-34 years vs. 59%
35-54 years), lower income residents (74% vs. 58% higher) and less
educated residents (75% less than high school, 69% high school vs.
64% some post-sec, 57% university graduates).
These are the
findings of an Ipsos-Reid/TRACS poll conducted between May 18th and
20th, 2004. For the telephone survey, a representative randomly
selected sample of 1000 adult Canadians was interviewed. With a
sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within ±
3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have
been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin
of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of
the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure the
sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual
Canadian population according to the 2001 Census data.
The Int'l Fund for Horses is the most dynamic equine advocacy organization of its kind. Headquartered in the United States, the Int'l Fund for Horses works for the enactment and enforcement of horse protection laws, and intervenes on behalf of horses in health, safety and welfare issues. Learn more at www.horsefund.org.
For further information, or to schedule an interview, please contact:
Kyle
Braid
Vice-President, Ipsos-Reid
Vancouver, BC
604.257.3200
Sinikka Crosland
TRACS (The Responsible Animal Care
Society)
250.768.4803
Vivian Farrell
President
Int'l Fund for Horses
713.893.7813
