Mr. Stephen S. Boynton 
Vice President, IWMC World Conservation Fund 
1015 Moorefield Hill Grove 
Vienna, VA 22180-6249 

Dear Mr. Boynton: 

Thank you for informing us of the survey regarding public attitudes toward whaling conducted by International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). I appreciate and applaud your interest and inquiry regarding the differences between this survey and the survey we recently conducted for IWMC World Conservation Fund. We have never been able to obtain a copy of the IFAW survey report or details of the methodology used by Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates, inc. in conducting this survey. In fact, on October 22, Ms. Kira Young, Director of Research at Responsive Management, called the office of Patrick Ramage, IFAW's Director of Public Affairs, and requested a copy of the survey results and methodology from Ms. Susan Boyle. Ms. Boyle informed Ms. Young that she would ask Mr. Ramage if the results could be distributed and would call the RM office with his decision. We have never received a copy of this report nor have we been called back, as promised, to say the report is not available to the public. This is not the policy of Responsive Management as we have released a full report of our survey's findings, methodology and survey instrument. 

At first glance, it might appear that the two surveys resulted in different findings. It is our professional opinion that the surveys did result in different conclusions, but it was because the surveys were measuring two different aspects of public opinion on whaling. 

Although IFAW has not furnished us a copy of their methodology, we will assume that this survey was conducted according to industry standards; that is, something equivalent to the standards developed by the Council of American Survey Research Organizations. 

As we began development of the survey instrument for this study, we consulted the literature on previous research regarding public opinion on whales. One of the most glaring finding of previous research was the public's low knowledge levels regarding whales. Indeed, Freeman and  

(540) 432-1888. 130 Franklin Street. Harrisonburg Virginia 22801. FAX (540)432-1892

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As you know, I have been conducting surveys on public attitudes toward wildlife for the past 10 years. We have learned a great deal about how Americans think about animals and wildlife-related issues. We know that Americans care deeply about wildlife and are concerned about endangered species. As well, other research we have conducted reveal that the American public supports the use of animals if it is done responsibly and does not harm the population of animals. It is reasonable to assume that if the American public does not know how many whales there actually are and if many people think that whales are in danger of extinction, then any survey, in the absence of this factual information, would find that many people oppose whaling. Certainly this is one way to assess public opinion on whales, but it seems like quite a misread to be asking opinion questions for policy issues when the researcher should know the public has literally no knowledge on the subject, and in fact possesses incorrect information on the subject. Based on this review of previous research it was clear that 1) factual information should be included in a survey of Americans' attitudes toward whales, and 2) not providing any information on whales could be considered misleading. Thus, we included factual information in the survey conducted for IWMC World Conservation Fund. Here is the information we included: 1) the minke whale is not endangered, 2) the International Whaling Commission estimates there to be l million minke whales worldwide, 3) harvested minke whales would be used for food, 4) the harvest of minke whales is an aspect of the culture for some nations and for some groups of people, and 5) the harvest of minke whale would be regulated by the International Whaling Commission which would set a worldwide limit on the number of whales to be harvested each year to ensure there would be no impact to overall minke whale population numbers. 

Thus, the difference in the two surveys is that one measures public opinion that is based on no factual knowledge of whales, or even factually incorrect information; while the other, the survey we conducted, is based on factual information. Our results -- that a majority of U.S. residents support a limited harvest of the non-endangered minke whale for food purposes -- is entirely consistent with everything else we have seen regarding the public's opinion of the use of animals. Overall, in the many studies we have conducted, it is fairly consistent that about 15% to 20% of the American public is against using animals for human benefit. In general, about three quarters

*Freeman, M. M. R. and S. R. Kellert. 1992. Public attitudes to whales, results of a six-country survey. 28pp.

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Once again, thank you for your inquiry regarding the results of our research for IWMC World Conservation Fund. Please let us know if you have any additional information. 

Sincerely, 
 
Mark Damian Duda 
Executive Director

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