How adults in the US view genetic engineering of animals depends on why the engineering is done, according to the Pew Research Center.
Pew surveyed 2,537 adults in the US to ask their thoughts on the genetic engineering of animals, from modifying mosquitoes to prevent disease spread to engineering animals for human organ transplants to bringing back extinct species.
Overall, it found that people were more accepting of genetic engineering of animals if the goal was to improve human health. For instance, 70 percent of respondents thought genetically engineering mosquitoes to prevent them from breeding and spreading disease was an acceptable use of the technology.
Other uses were less acceptable. About a third said using a closely related species to bring back an extinct one was an appropriate use of genetic engineering and 43 percent said it's OK to use genetic engineering to make meat healthier for human consumption.
Pew adds that those who opposed genetic engineering of animals in general said they were concerned about its effects on the animals themselves as well as on humans and the ecosystem.
How the respondents viewed genetic engineering was also influence by gender, scientific knowledge, and religious commitment, it notes.