Unfortunately, the world is not a very peaceful or safe place for many individuals. From conflict to abuse to exploitation, there is so much cruelty inflicted on both humans and animals. While this can get disheartening and difficult to hear about, petitions are a great way to use your voice for good. Just by signing one, you are a part of helping those who are not treated fairly. You can even share them with your friends and acquaintances to increase your impact.

Through petitions, we can reach those in power and demand justice for others. They are valuable tools for making positive changes in the world. If you are looking for a way to help animals and humans, here are 10 petitions you should sign this week, including Tell Mississippi to End Blatantly Racist Voting Restrictions, Demand Shein Remove All Lead From Its Products, and Shut Down This Deadly Racetrack Before More Horses Die!

We want to thank you for being the change you wish to see in the world and giving a voice to the voiceless.

1. Shut Down This Deadly Racetrack Before More Horses Die

Source: NBCLA/Youtube

From July 1, 2018, to November 30, 2019, 56 racehorses died at the infamous Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. According to the California Horse Racing Board, 16 horses died in 2020, and 19 died in 2021. Just this May, a 4-year-old colt died at the park, making it the second racehorse death in two days and the third in the previous six days.

A 2012 New York Times investigation found that 90 percent of horses that break down on the track had pre-existing injuries. The horses are often given painkillers so that they can continue to be used and abused to run the track. However, when Santa Anita announced a ban on race-day medications, the death count continued to climb.

Racing horses are mistreated on racetracks around the United States. In 2018, almost 10 horses died a week in the country. That’s significantly higher than the number of recorded racing horse deaths in Europe or Asia. From doping to the general abuse of animals, there’s something incredibly wrong with the racehorse industry. To make matters worse, fractures are a death sentence for horses and have proven to be a quite frequent occurrence.

Sign this petition to ask the city of Arcadia and L.A. County to shut Santa Anita Park down for animal abuse!

2. Demand Animal COVID-19 Vaccinations for Eligible Zoo Animals

Source: KELOLAND News/Youtube

Scientists have known for a while that animals can become infected and succumb to COVID-19. Since COVID-19 is an airborne virus, animals in captivity can be infected by humans breathing around them. This is exactly what happened with Everest, Makalu, and Ranney, three rare snow leopards held in captivity at the Lincoln Children’s Zoo in Nebraska. The three have been held in the zoo for years until they all contracted COVID-19 in October 2021. Just one month later, all three playful snow leopards had died.

Researchers have developed a vaccine against COVID-19 specifically for animals. We need to urge the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) to require vaccination for eligible zoo animals now!

Sign this petition to demand that zoos vaccinate their eligible animals to save them!

3. Tell Mississippi to End Blatantly Racist Voting Restrictions

Source: MSNBC/Youtube

Recently, a Mississippi Appeals Court purposefully decided to keep a racist, Jim Crow-era voting restriction in the state’s constitution. The restriction keeps people that are convicted of felonies from being allowed to exercise their right to vote along with the rest of the state.

This law has racist and white supremacist origins. The law was first introduced in 1890 and was placed to make sure that Black people in the South did not get all of the gains of the Civil War and Reconstruction. The ruling explicitly noted that they created the restriction to punish those who were convicted of “black crimes” while white criminals were allowed to keep their voting power.

Sign this petition to demand Mississippi lawmakers pass a new law to allow people to have the right to vote!

4. Demand Shein Remove All Lead From Its Products

Source: SLOAN/Youtube

Researchers just found that some of Shein’s fast fashion clothing may contain “hazardous waste.” One piece of clothing that they tested was a jacket made for toddlers. They found that this piece had almost 20 times the amount of lead that is safe for children to be exposed to. They also tested a purse that contained over five times the safe level of lead.

Lead is extremely dangerous and has been called a public health crisis in multiple countries. Lead poisoning can lead to things like anemia and nausea to even more dangerous kidney and brain damage.

Shein must test its clothing and remove lead from the products they sell. There is no reason why a multi-billion dollar company can not ensure that their products are not putting their customers at risk!

to demand Shein take responsibility for its hazardous clothes and remove all lead from its products!

5. Tell Nestle to Get Clean Water to Jackson, Mississippi

Source: WHAS11/Youtube

Jackson, Mississippi, has been without safe drinking water for weeks. After flooding cause a pump failure at the water treatment facility to break, the city that is a predominantly Black community is not able to shower, hydrate, do dishes, cook, or clean.

However, even before the pump failure, Jackson was under a “boil water” notice, and many fear the situation is becoming the next Flint. If Flint taught us anything, it’s that clean water needs to be prioritized!

Nestle is the world’s largest food and drink company. They have more than enough resources to give the city of Jackson water until the situation is fixed. However, Nestle has a long history of taking water from communities in need and using it for profit without giving back to the communities they are taking from. It’s time that Nestle took responsibility and did something good for once!

Sign this petition to demand Nestle help Jackson residents get clean water!

6. Tell Congress to Make Corporal Punishment Illegal in All Schools Across the U.S.

Source: Education Week/Youtube

A school district in Missouri has announced that they are bringing back paddling to the schools. Paddling is the practice of hitting children with a wooden paddle as punishment. Shockingly, corporal punishment remains legal in 19 states. There is significant research that proves that physical punishment is psychologically and physically harmful to children in the short and long run. There are so many other ways that schools could go about this, but they choose violence.

The American Psychological Association has pointed to research that shows paddling can cause injury and trauma and is not effective at all in improving behavior. They also found that Black children and disabled children are more likely to be “paddled” in school than their peers.

Elizabeth T. Gershoff, a professor of human development and family sciences at the University of Texas at Austin, said,

“If one adult were to paddle another with a wooden board, it would be considered assault. But when the teacher hits a smaller person who happens to be a child, these states and these schools are saying it’s okay. It’s showing we give children less protection against violence than we give adults.”

Sign this petition to demand Congress ban the use of corporal punishment in all schools across the United States!

7. Demand Canada Make it Illegal to Hunt with Lead Bullets

Source: FOX 13 Tampa Bay/Youtube

Lead poisoning is leaving eagle populations so emaciated and weak that they are not able to fly or hunt. The raptors become so sick that they are not able to recover and ultimately die, which disrupts the entire ecosystem. The lead is coming from hunter’s bullets. When hunters leave behind carcasses of deer and other innocent animals, other animals like eagles will feed off them and, in turn, contract lead poisoning.

Canadian hunters, year after year, think that it is ok to leave the bodies of animals they have slaughtered with lead bullets. Scavengers, like eagles, clean up the carcasses as it is a vital part of their role in the ecosystem. However, the lead in the animal’s body will linger and poison the eagles.

Sign this petition to demand that Canada make it illegal to hunt with lead ammunition and to ban anyone who used lead ammunition from ever obtaining a hunting license again!

8. Stop Authorities From Euthanising An 85-Year-Old Man’s Beloved Dog

Source: GriptMedia/Youtube

A 5-year-old Jack Russel Terrier named Kim lives with her human, Mr. Roger, in Ireland. Roger is 85 and describes Kim as his best friend. For the whole five years that Kim has been with Roger, she has never shown any aggression. Unfortunately, one day when they were out on a walk, Kim bit a woman’s leg. Now, the woman is demanding that Kim be euthanized.

There are so many other solutions to issues like this besides killing the dog. Kim has had no prior signs of aggression and there are many reasons that she could have bitten the woman’s leg, such as if she felt in danger or if it was just a simple mistake. Rogers has asked the woman to find another solution and even said he would hire construction workers to build better fencing around his property, muzzle Kim, and even hire a dog behavior specialist. However, the woman won’t budge.

Sign this petition to demand that Irish authorities step in and prevent Kim’s impending euthanasia!

9. Demand Increased Budget For Classroom Resources and Salaries for Teachers

Source: VICE News/Youtube

With school back in session for the current year, teachers are scrambling to get all of the supplies and Support they need to make it a successful year. However, most of the time, teachers have to resort to asking family, friends, community members, and even the internet for help to buy resources for their classrooms.

The United States is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, so why can’t we afford to pay our teachers a fair wage and make sure that students have the supplies and resources that they need? Teachers’ salaries continue to decline despite how essential their positions are. Teaching has consistently been ranked as one of the most stressful positions in the country.

Sign this petition to demand that all states increase budgeting for classroom resources and salaries for teachers!

10. Stop Billionaires From Buying Political Decisions

Source: Democracy Now!/Youtube

This secret billionaire has been shaping politicians’ decisions for years, and it’s time it stopped. Recently, investigators and researchers with ProPublica, The Lever, and The New York Times uncovered the largest politically related donation in the history of the United States (that we know of.)

Billionaire Barre Seid has avoided the spotlight for years until now, and he is reportedly one of the world’s three most powerful people, according to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. He has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to right-wing groups and politicians.

Seid has reportedly made a tax-avoidant donation worth $1.6 billion to a right-wing political organization named Marble Freedom Trust. The Trust is a part known as a “dark money group,” which means they can raise as much money as they want and give it out to politicians without needing to disclose activities. They can purchase politicians’ loyalty.

Sign this petition to protect the integrity of the U.S. political system and end corruption!

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