Poll: Most prefer fake Christmas trees

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- A Canadian pollster said a majority of respondents in Britain, the United States and Canada said they prefer artificial Christmas trees to the real thing.

The Angus Reid Public Opinion poll, conducted online Dec. 14-17, indicates 62 percent of Britons, 58 percent of Canadians and 53 percent of U.S. residents are using artificial trees this year, while 24 percent of Britons, 26 percent of Canadians and 31 percent of U.S. residents said they won't have a tree at all this year.

Among those who prefer the artificial trees, 33 percent of Britons polled said they believe the fake trees are more environmentally friendly, a sentiment shared by 39 percent of Canadian respondents and 33 percent from the United States.

The poll involved 1,000 respondents in Canada, 1,005 in the United States and 2,003 in Britain. The margin of error was 3.1 percentage points for Canada and the United States, and 2.2 points for Britain.