Ipsos: 62% believe that animals should be incorporated into the Constitution as sentient beings

In its recent report "Study of Public Opinion: Treatment of Animals in Chile", the international consulting firm Ipsos, sponsored by the Fundación Vegetarianos Hoy, published a measurement carried out on 500 Chileans from all regions of the country, consisting of a diagnosis of the opinion and citizen practices regarding the treatment of animals and the knowledge of relevant campaigns in the promotion of their rights.

Of those surveyed, only 15% feel comfortable with the way animals are treated in the food industry, while 5 out of 10 Chileans disagree with this statement.

In relation to foods of animal origin, 35% think that most of the meat, dairy products and/or eggs in Chile come from animals with poor welfare conditions and 28% believe that they have a good quality of life.

According to the study, 80% of Chileans agree or strongly agree that farm animals (chickens, pigs and cows, among others) are capable of feeling pain and discomfort just like dogs and cats. , while 78% mention that this type of living beings have the ability to have this sensitivity to pain equal to humans.

In relation to the statement "There is a direct connection between the pandemic and the exploitation of animals for food", 44% are in favor of this premise while 31% disagree.

And about establishing food policies that modify the current food production system to avoid future pandemics, 9 out of 10 Chileans are very much in favor of this proposal.

sentient beings

Faced with the statement "both the government and the political class must intervene in order to prohibit cruel practices and generate regulations on high standards of animal welfare", 82% say they agree, 5% disagree, and 13% Neither agree nor disagree.

On the other hand, regarding the statement "animals must be incorporated as sentient beings in the Constitution and in laws such as the Civil Code", 62% agree, 11% disagree, and 25% think that neither agree or disagree.

In relation to the knowledge of the campaigns of the Fundación Vegetarianos Hoy on the treatment of animals, the knowledge of "They are not furniture", a campaign that seeks to incorporate animals into the constitution and modify their legal status as "things", only 29 % say they have seen propaganda for this campaign.

“It is essential to become part of the current discussion of the drafting of the New Constitution to include animals, considering that 64 elected constituents have already signed for the campaign and we have gathered more than 216,000 signatures that support the initiative. The animal theme is relevant in the current political discussion”, said Camila Ahumada, coordinator of Advocacy of the Foundation.