Faunalytics is a non-profit organization based in Olympia, Washington, funded through consulting fees, grants, and donations. Founded by Che Green, a former analyst and research manager, Faunalytics utilizes contributions of time and expertise from committed professionals in research, marketing, and communications, as well as business service providers and designers for print and online media. Faunalytics has the GuideStar Platinum Seal of Transparency, and is currently listed as one of Animal Charity Evaluators' Standout Organizations.
Research
Faunalytics has conducted or contributed to a number of research studies that are significant for the animal advocacy movement. Noteworthy projects include a study of public perception of the animal protection movement, the Humane Index, and an independent study on advocating meat reduction and vegetarianism to U.S. adults. From 2008-2019 the organization conducted the Animal Tracker, an annual survey of animal-related attitudes and behavior among U.S. adults, to establish benchmarks for these trends over time. In 2014, Faunalytics published a study of current and former vegetarians and vegans, based on a survey of over 11,000 people. According to their report, this is the first study to estimate the number of former vegetarians and vegans in the United States using a representative sample. They found that 2% of respondents identified as current vegetarians/vegans, while 10% identified as former vegetarians/vegans, pointing to high recidivism among vegetarians/vegans. This study reportedly influenced several major farmed animal advocacy groups' outreach strategy. In 2018, Faunalytics conducted an exploratory study of attitudinal and behavioral differences among people in the "BRIC" countries – Brazil, Russia, India, and China – plus the United States. Data for this study were collected by YouGov in May and June of 2018, from more than 1,000 individuals per country. They found that more people are reducing than increasing their meat consumption, but that despite wanting better welfare for farmed animals most people don't believe meat-eating is to blame for animal suffering. That same year they also conducted a study on Naturalness Concerns and Clean Meat Acceptance. In 2019 they conducted studies on Labeling Alternatives to Plant-Based Meat, Impact of Corporate Commitments on Consumer Attitudes, Characteristics of People Who Donate to Animal Causes, and Increasing Donations Through Appeal Types, Exposure, And Donor Characteristics. Faunalytics also maintains a comprehensive research library with over 4,000 summaries of external research studies on animal related issues. They also produce interactive visual overviews of fundamental topics related to animal protection.
named Faunalytics as one of its Standout Charities in its 2015, 2017, and 2019 annual charity recommendations. ACE designates as Standout Charities those organizations which they do not feel are as strong as their Top Charities, but which excel in at least one way and are exceptionally strong compared to animal charities in general. ACE reviews organizations designated as a Standout Charity every other year. In its December 2019 review of Faunalytics, ACE cites Faunalytics' strengths as its focus on an important field and its publication of important research on topics related to effective animal advocacy. Their review states that Faunalytics' research projects are highly transparent, publicly available, and seem to be the result of an impact-focused project prioritization process. According to ACE, their weakness is that the effects of their programs on animals are indirect and difficult to measure.
