# Eight-in-ten Americans say animal avoidance should count as "no"

Canonical page: https://data.verasight.io/culture/eight-in-ten-americans-say-animal-avoidance-should-count-as-no/

> Indexed question in Culture.

## Reading

In a Verasight survey of 1,000 U.S. adults conducted May 11, 2026, 82% of Americans agreed that if an animal tries to avoid something a human wants it to do, the human should treat that avoidance as the animal saying "no." This includes 30% who strongly agree, 34% who agree, and 19% who somewhat agree.

Few Americans disagreed (5%), with 2% who somewhat disagree, 2% who disagree, and 1% who strongly disagree. Another 12% were neutral.

## Topline

Please indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with the following statement: If an animal tries to avoid something a human wants it to do, the human should treat that as the animal saying "no."

82% of Americans say an animal avoiding something should be treated as the animal saying "no."

Net findings combine adjacent response options from the same scale.

- Agree: 33.7%
- Strongly agree: 29.6%
- Somewhat agree: 18.8%
- Neither agree nor disagree: 12.4%
- Somewhat disagree: 2.1%
- Disagree: 2.0%
- Strongly disagree: 1.3%

## Methodology

- Mode: Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
- Population: US adults age 18+
- Field dates: 2026-05-11 → 2026-05-11
- Base (unweighted): 1,000
- Margin of error: +/- 3.3%
- Module: daily_life
- Sponsor: Verasight
- Weight variable: weight
- Weighting targets: age, race/ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, metropolitan status

## Source

- Canonical question URL: [https://reports.verasight.io/r/spsp26#q-2.3](https://reports.verasight.io/r/spsp26#q-2.3)

## Citation

Verasight SPSP Omnibus Survey #2026-045, fielded May 11-11, 2026, N=1,000 US adults age 18+, +/- 3.3%.

Canonical question URL: [https://reports.verasight.io/r/spsp26#q-2.3](https://reports.verasight.io/r/spsp26#q-2.3)