Date of Award

2019

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Reilly, Jack

Area of Concentration

Political Science

Abstract

Often ignored in animal rights and welfare literature is the political context that shapes and influences our relationship with non-humans. Different species in America experience vastly different lifestyles and treatment, partly due to their legal classifications. This quantitative research project analyzes different demographic markers of a human, their level of meat consumption, if are a farmer, their degree, biological sex, age, income, race and political ideology to predict whether or not they serve as indicators of support for animal rights claims. The data, gathered from the 1993 and 1994 GSS, includes 2,771 participants and was analyzed using bivariate and multivariate regression analyses. Results from the study conclude that meat consumption, education, age and biological are correlated with level of support for animal rights. The conclusions shed new light on who activists should be targeting to including in conversations about rights and welfare reform.

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