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 Stop People From Shooting Pets with Guns and Arrows in Louisiana, Protest Banks Funding Climate Destruction, and ban police from spying on pregnant people!

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

1. Turtles Are Getting Mysteriously Ill in Central Florida, and Scientists Need Help!

Source: Vladimir Wrangel/Shutterstock

Wildlife officials in Florida are extremely concerned about a virus that is threatening turtles across the state. There are reports of turtles with swollen or sunken eyes, red, irritated skin, and lethargy so intense that they don’t even flee from predators or humans. Reports have described the infected turtles as appearing sluggish, unresponsive to flee, staying in shallow water for prolonged periods, having eyes that appear sunken, swollen, crusty, or cloudy, have reddened skin on their heads, necks, limbs, or shell bottoms or are irregularly swimming, said Orlando Weekly. The state must fund immediate programs to protect the turtles, including research on the virus and better public awareness! Sign this petition to push Florida to invest more money into researching this virus and creating a public awareness campaign to protect our beloved turtles!

2. Stop People From Shooting Pets with Guns and Arrows in Louisiana

In northern Louisiana, animal rescuers and organizations like the Humane Society of Louisiana are seeing a shocking increase in horrific, extreme animal abuse cases. People are shooting cats and dogs with guns — and also with bow-and-arrows. “It’s a lot more common than you think, and it keeps happening because no one’s held accountable, The Humane Society said. Executive Director of The Humane Society of Louisiana, Jeff Dorson, said they frequently get disturbing calls of animals being shot in this area. “There’s a high level of crime against animals in north Louisiana because there are very few shelters, animal control departments, and there’s a huge gap in the infrastructure in helping stray and unwanted animals,” Dorson told Knoe 8 News. The situation keeps getting worse. Some of the violence inflicted against these defenseless pets comes from neighbors who take out their aggression on others’ beloved companion animals. Sign this petition to demand justice for these shot and abused animals!

3. Horse Owners Were Charged With Roughly 300 Counts of Animal Abuse

In West Deer Township, Pennsylvania, a humane rescue officer was appalled to find over 40 horses suffering from extremely inhumane conditions. Currently, no law in Pennsylvania prevents perpetrators of violence against animals — or those who neglect their pets — from owning animals again in the future. Sign this petition to demand that these owners are never allowed to own animals again!

4. Emily Was Brutally Beaten by Police for Drinking a Beer on the Beach

Source: ABC News/Youtube

20-year-old Emily Weinman was initially approached by the officers about underage drinking. But the situation quickly got out of hand.  To everyone’s surprise, a full-grown male police officer had horrifically attacked her, thrown her down, choked her, and began to punch her with his fists with a full crowd as a witness. The police officers who brutalized her only got desk duty as a punishment and have yet to be charged, Care 2 said in a Facebook post. That is unacceptable, they should be fired. Sign this petition to demand that Wildwood police fire the officers involved in this disgusting show of excessive force by law enforcement.

5. Banks Are Funding Our Climate Destruction. They Must Divest Now!

Source: GlobalWitness/Youtube

In 2021, the Banking on Climate Chaos report investigated the deeply entangled links between the worlds of finance and dirty energy. It found that JPMorgan Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America are the four worst banking institutions when it comes to funding the climate crisis, through their massive investments in fossil fuels. Sign this petition to demand all corporate banking institutions fully divest from all fossil fuels, including oil and gas supplies! They must cease funding our destruction!

6. Call on Congress to ban police from using phone data to spy on pregnant people!

If having an abortion becomes a felony in the majority of American states, law enforcement will suddenly become very interested in keeping track of who is pregnant. A Vice News investigation has already discovered a data broker, SafeGraph, selling information on people who have visited Planned Parenthood branches throughout the country. As if an unwanted pregnancy wasn’t terrifying enough already, now women must live in fear. Sign this petition to protect the privacy of pregnant people and keep police out of their business!

7. Indigenous Women Were Forced Into Being Sterilized. Demand Justice!

Source: cpac/Youtube

Currently, there is a class-action lawsuit filed stating that, for at least the past 20 years, Indigenous women in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan have been coerced into undergoing forced sterilizations. Some women, after giving birth, even say they were told that they would be unable to see their newborns until they consented to be sterilized. Sign this petition to Support Sen. Boyer and the indigenous women of Canada in finding justice!

8. Change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day!

Source: VOA News/Youtube

From continuing to steal lands away from native communities to ripping through these lands with oil and gas pipelines just to have them leak and leech into the soil and water, to decimating the wildlife that indigenous peoples depend on for food and materials, the U.S. honors Columbus’ bloody legacy. Christopher Columbus never even stepped foot in North America, but he had everything to do with what the United States would become. Sign this petition demanding that the United States change Columbus day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day!

9. Delta Airlines Abandoned Five Million Honeybees-in-Transit to Die on a Hot Tarmac

Source: Ashleigh Kman/Youtube

Last month, five million honeybees — 800 pounds inside 200 crates — bound a Delta Airlines flight from Sacramento, California. They were heading for Seattle, Washington, and then on to Anchorage, Alaska. There, they’d join the nurseries and orchards of more than 300 Alaskan beekeepers to help with pollinating fruiting plants. That was the plan. Until Delta Airlines rerouted the bees to a completely different location and left them to starve and broil to death on a hot airport tarmac for hours. Sign this petition to demand justice for these pollinators, which Delta thoughtlessly neglected to death!

10. Demand Change From Shein!

Source: DW Planet A/Youtube

The horrific impacts of fast fashion on the environment are no secret. And now Shein — the largest online-only retailer in the world — is releasing 700 to 1,000 new products a day. Estimates suggest the company is producing a whopping 35,000 to 100,000 articles of clothing every single day. On top of that, consumers throw away about 60% of the clothes that they buy within the same year. Shein’s business model depends on a degree of relentless consumption and waste. Sign this petition to demand that Shein take responsibility and prioritize sustainability!

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