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 Rescue Zoo Lion, Investigate Cruel Factory Farms, and Ban Horse Carriages in Savannah and New Orleans.

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

1. Pass the Refuge From Cruel Trapping Act

Body-gripping traps cause extreme pain and suffering to animals that get caught in them. The animals are crushed, gripped, and mangled as they try to get away, often chewing off their own limbs in desperation. Many are stuck for days, vulnerable to predators, in severe pain, and without food or water. Furthermore, many pets and endangered wildlife will end up in these traps even if they weren’t the intended target. Fortunately, members of Congress have recently introduced the Refuge From Cruel Trapping Act, which would ban all use and even possession of body-gripping traps in federal public lands known as the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS). Currently, more than half of the 568 refuges inside the U.S. still allow trapping, which means one too many missteps off a trail could land you or your furry friend in grave danger. Sign this petition to urge Congress to pass the Refuge From Cruel Trapping Act and ban body-gripping traps from being used on public lands!

2. Rescue Zoo Lion Being Exploited in Lebanon

Normalize NOT locking up wildlife and using them in stressful ways for attractions and influencers. This poor lion is being tortured like a prisoner for profit. These places should be reported for animal abuse. pic.twitter.com/fzOJoLFmoG

— Rob N Roll (@thegallowboob) August 3, 2021

In a video posted to Instagram, a helpless lion can be seen trying to claw at a plexiglass box while two women laugh and enjoy the obvious distress and confusion this animal has to endure on a daily basis at this zoo. While the zoo, called Animal City, advertises itself as an “animal sanctuary and safe haven,” the video that they posted to Instagram sends a very stark and contrasting message. Animals should be in the wild with their families, not in zoos where they are kept in small, unnatural enclosures surrounded by loud people throughout the day. Zoos are not and can never be beneficial for animals – especially when they offer cub petting and other up-close interactions with the animals. Sign this petition to urge the Lebanese Government to assist in the removal and rehabilitation of this wild animal to a larger and more suitable space!

3. Investigate Cruel Factory Farms

There are so many cruelties inherent to factory farming. A recent investigation found that not only are these animals cramped in tight facilities where they trod over each other and barely have room to move, but they are also surrounded by the rotting bodies of dead animals. An undercover investigation in the UK discovered around 30,000 farmed chickens, dead from severe dehydration, left among the living. The factory farms investigated in the UK (Avara Foods in Hertfordshire, Hook 2 Sisters in Somerset, and Overbrook Farm in Derbyshire) supply meat to four of the largest British supermarkets, including Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Lidl, and Aldi, as well as for KFC restaurants. Due to unnatural growth hormones, these poor chickens’ bodies can’t bear the weight of their own bodies. Thus, their bones break and they aren’t able to walk over to get water. Sign this petition to tell the UK government to investigate Avara Foods, Hook 2 Sisters, and Overbrook Farm for their gross negligence and animal cruelty, and to implement stricter regulations now!

4. Hold Construction Company Accountable for Environmental Damage

Recently, a freeway project on Mill Creek Canyon Road in Salt Lake City, Utah resulted in a “concrete slurry” being poured directly into a local creek. As result, hundreds of fish died and were seen floating at the top. Dogs who drank out of the creek got sick and humans were advised to stay away as the contaminated waters could cause skin irritation. This catastrophe is the result of negligence on the part of Ralph L. Wadsworth Construction, the contractor of a project to rebuild parts of Interstate-215. Sign this petition to demand that DEQ remove them from this freeway project, demand that they pay for cleanup instead of using taxpayer money, and fine them for this environmental disaster!

5. Help End Violence Against Women

In the aftermath of the abduction, rape, and murder of Sarah Everard by a police officer in London, some leaders are trying to combat Violence Against Women. England and Wales are considering a new law with initiatives to make street harassment illegal, outlaw non-disclosure agreements in higher education, create and fund a 24-hour rape and sexual assault hotline, and ban the practice of “virginity testing.” Sign this petition to encourage lawmakers to pass this new law that could help end violence against women.

6. Investigate Rapist Who Had Over 400 Piece’s of Women’s Undergarments

Recently, police apprehended John Uda, a man who broke into a woman’s home and attempted to sexually assault her. After Uda was arrested, police searched his home where they found over 400 bras and pairs of underwear. In 2019, Uda was accused of stealing underwear from the laundry room in his apartment, but not much came of it. While it was not a violent crime, it was an invasion of privacy and he should have had to get mental health help before anything else happened. There’s a chance that some of the undergarments that they found in Uda’s home were also from other attacks that he got away with. Sign this petition to demand that the Dothan Police Department do their due diligence, and investigate every single one of these pieces of evidence so that every victim gets justice!

7. Investigate and Reform St. Louis Police Department For Beating Up Black Police Officer

In 2017, Luther Hall, a Black police officer, and his partner were tasked with going undercover at a protest against police brutality to get photographic and video footage. While he was there, Christopher Myers, Randy Hays, and Bailey Colletta, three White St. Louis police officers, attacked Hall. They told him to get on the ground, which he did, and then started beating him up with their hands, batons, and boots. Only after they realized who he was did they allow him to get treated by medics. He ended up with a concussion, herniated discs, a rotator cuff tear, a bruised tailbone, and a hole in his face, above his lip. Despite knowing about this horrific violence, the St. Louis Police Department didn’t even fire the three officers. The officers were only fired after the FBI obtained text messages from Myers and another man that said, “it’s gonna be a lot of fun beating the hell out of these [expletives] once the sun goes down and nobody can tell us [the officers] apart.” Randy Hays has been sentenced to four years in prison, but if it hadn’t been a police officer that was attacked, it’s likely that the three white officers would never have been held accountable. Since the St. Louis Police Department clearly cannot be trusted to snuff out racism and brutality in its ranks, it needs outside help to make them do this. This is where the Department of Justice (DOJ) comes in. The DOJ must do an internal review to investigate how such rampant violence was allowed and overlooked by supervising officers. Sign this petition to tell the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the St. Louis Police Department and implement reforms now! Attorney General Merrick Garland must launch a review before this untrustworthy police department ruins anyone else’s life.

8. Raise Minimum Wage For Eldercare and Home Care Workers

Eldercare and Home Care Workers are vital to our society. They do the important work of providing compassionate care and dignity to the elders in our society, whether it be at home, or in residential or nursing facilities. However, they are often underpaid, overworked, and underappreciated. As a result, many of these workers can no longer afford to work in this industry, and thus, the industry faces a labor shortage. The largest employer of elder care workers in the U.S. is the federal government since they are often part of Medicaid and Medicare-funded programs. The government must ensure that these workers are compensated fairly for their work. Sign this petition to ask Congress to raise federal minimum wages for eldercare and home care workers in the 2022 budget!

9. Refuse to Ride Elephants

Elephant rides are a common attraction for people going on vacations in places like India and Thailand. Sadly, while these activities may seem like a fun way to spend time with animals, they are actually extremely cruel.  Most elephants used for rides and other tourist amusements in Jaipur have been stolen from the wild and beaten into submission. They live lonely lives of hard labor with little or no access to good food, fresh water, or quality veterinary service when they inevitably get injured. The pandemic has caused a temporary pause on elephant rides in Jaipur, but things could change soon – especially with the increase in travel and vaccines. Sign this petition to bring this abusive practice to a permanent end — for the captive elephants caught in this sad life today and for the wild elephants who will be poached tomorrow if nothing is done

10. Tell Savannah and New Orleans to Ban Horse Carriages

We’ve reached the peak of summer in the United States, and the heatwaves that come along with it. Although many cities like Chicago, Las Vegas, and Salt Lake City have banned horse drawn carriage rides, other cities are still putting poor horses to work and in grave danger. These tourist attractions are often associated with romance; however, the animals involved suffer extreme cruelty. The horses walk in stressful, loud, and polluted areas for long hours in sweltering hot or freezing cold conditions. Many collapse from exhaustion and suffer debilitating health issues. Then they return to tiny, barren stalls with improper medical care and sustenance. Sign this petition to demand that Savannah and New Orleans immediately implement horse carriage bans!

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