YourSAY™ 2012.3 - Canada's Thought Leaders Ponder the National Companion Animal Coalition

The third public opinion poll of 2012 is reported. This report summarizes the YourSAY™ survey Powered by PetLynx™ that fielded March 1-8, 2012. Forty respondents participated in the PetLynx YourSAY™ forum for 2012.3 featuring opinions about the National Companion Animal Coalition (NCAC). Participants included thought leaders representing all sectors of the industry in Canada. 

Highlights from YourSAY™ 2012.3:

• Sixty percent of the participants had heard about the NCAC prior to this survey. Of the remaining participants, 35% had never heard of the NCAC and 5% did not respond.
• About half of all participants felt that the NCAC was essential, about half felt NCAC was non-essential, and the remaining 5% did not respond.
• The vast majority of participants felt that promoting public education should be a top priority for the NCAC. Other top priorities include: lobby government on behalf of the industry (51%), coordinate communications efforts of industry players (41%), act as a spokesperson for the Companions Animal Industry (35%).
• The most common changes participants would make to the NCAC were: expansion of membership (61%), formal governance structure (53%), establishment of administration to carryout NCAC mandate (50%), and establishment of membership (50%).
• About half of participants supported 'majority rules' and 43% support the current NCAC practice of 'consensus.'
• Of the 19 participants who supported 'consensus', 42% preferred to obtain additional facts until consensus was secured, 37% preferred to send the issue to an Urban Animal Summit OpenSpace session and 21% had other suggestions.
• Of the 22 participants who supported 'majority rules', almost three out of every four preferred to send the majority decision to the Urban Animal Summits to gather wider consensus.
• The vast majority of participants do not believe that the NCAC has a broad base of support among their industry peers.
• While almost three out of every four participants have not been assisted by NCAC actions, one in every five participants has had NCAC actions help their industry activities.
• Primary resources NCAC would require include: industry donations (53%) and third-party contributions (39%).

Demographics of YourSAY™ 2012.3:

• Gender: 59% Female, 41% Male
• Age: 15% 21-35 years old, 38% 36-50 years old, 45% 51 and older
• Region: 40% Central, 25% Prairie, 20% Pacific, 10% Atlantic
• Pets: 76% Dog owner, 58% Cat owner
• Industry: 38% Animal Welfare, 28% Animal Services, 18% Animal Control and Enforcement, 13% Animal Health and Wellness
• Executive Level: 20% C-Level Executive, 40% Senior Management, 13% Middle Management, 8% Individual Contributor, 15% Other

YourSAY™ public opinion polls are owned and Powered by PetLynx™. Copies of the complete survey report are available for a nominal cost. Contact Sheena.Neel@petlynxmail.com if you wish to procure a copy.