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Most Brits find bloodsports, animal testing, fur, and factory farming “unacceptable,” according to a new survey by The Vegan Society.
Eighty-five percent of those surveyed also described themselves as “animal lovers,” even though 82 percent were meat-eaters.
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The Vegan Society’s “Empathy Index,” which tracks evolving public attitudes to animal welfare and cruelty over time, is a nationally representative survey of 2,000 people. The Vegan Society also compared its 2026 results with those from 2024.
Those surveyed were shown 29 examples of animal use and asked to grade them using a four-point scale from “completely acceptable” to “completely unacceptable.”
Dog fighting (95 percent), bullfighting (93 percent), and fox hunting (87 percent) were all described as unacceptable by most respondents, as were cosmetic animal testing (87 percent), trapping and snaring animals (85 percent), and hunting deer with guns (77 percent). Many forms of animal use were deemed unacceptable by more people in 2026 than in 2024, including greyhound racing (up to 60 percent from 55 percent), and shooting grouse, pheasants, and other birds (up to 69 percent from 67 percent).
Leather, fur, and farming animals for food
More people thought that wearing leather made from cow skin was unacceptable in 2026 than in 2024 (up to 43 percent from 41 percent), though slightly fewer people felt that wearing animal fur was unacceptable (down to 70 percent from 71 percent).
For the first time, those surveyed were asked what they thought of farming animals for food. Sixty-five percent of people described factory farming as unacceptable, while 23 percent described organic animal farming as unacceptable.
The Vegan Society described these results as particularly “striking” considering that 82 percent of respondents self-identified as meat-eaters.
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Over 76 billion animals are factory farmed each year
Ninety percent of all farmed animals worldwide are factory farmed.
The industry kills more than 76 billion animals, approximately 10 factory-farmed animals for every human on the planet, every 12 months. About 85 percent of the UK livestock is raised on factory farms, including 95 percent of chickens.
According to The Vegan Society, the UK still identifies as a “nation of animal lovers,” despite the prevalence of “animal use and abuse in all areas of our day-to-day lives.”
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