What happens when I sign a petition?

All of our current campaigns started with a petition. From Supermarkets Sell Suffering to Beatrice’s fight to end cages, petitions are a good way to demonstrate popular support to those who have the power to make change.

Petitions will usually consist of the following:

• An ask. A powerful statement that explains what the petition is calling for lets the signatory know what they’re supporting, and tells decision-makers exactly what we want them to do. This could come in the form of an open letter, or a clear call to action. For example: “Tell the UK Government - stop fish being killed in painful ways”.
• A recipient. Whether its an entity (e.g. the Government) or a specific person (like the CEO of a company), it should always be obvious who is being called upon to solve the problem raised in the petition. This adds direct pressure - some petition platforms even send an email to the decision-maker every time someone signs!
• Signatory details. Have you ever wondered why signing a petition requires your email address, postcode, telephone number, life story…? At The Humane League UK, we try to keep the details we ask for to an absolute minimum, to protect your data. However, some information is necessary to verify that the person signing is actually a real person, and a postcode can be helpful to know where people are signing from (this is useful for a couple of reasons, which we’ll go into later). This data is not seen by anyone else signing the petition and is kept in compliance with data protection regulations.

Sharing the petition on social media or with friends and family is one of the major ways in which we can achieve more support for our campaigns. Sharing starts a snowball effect and in the first few days of a petition, we tend to see numbers doubling and tripling at speed!

Lots of petitions also have the ability to add a comment and let us know your reason for signing. These are always really motivating to read and inspire others to get involved too.

Will the petition actually be seen by those who need to see it?

Petitions are useful for raising awareness around a certain topic, but the most useful purpose is to encourage the decision-maker to actually make the required change. That’s why it’s so important to make sure it is seen by those in power. There are a number of ways to do this:

• Email. You could email the decision-maker and tell them that you’ve signed the petition and why. Linking to the petition is always a good idea so that they can see for themselves how many people care about the issue!
• Tweet. Sometimes, tweeting someone can get you a quicker response than an email. Emails can be easier to ignore as they’re behind-the-scenes, hiding in somebody's inbox. A tweet or a Facebook comment is public, and therefore the decision-maker is often more likely to tackle it head-on.
• Write. Hand-written letters are powerful. We don’t just think it - it’s been confirmed by MPs. This is because they are not as common anymore so they stand out, and they also demonstrate effort on the part of the sender. To have spent your free time writing and posting a physical letter indicates that you care a lot about the issue.
• Deliver. Once a petition has hit an impactful number of signatures, it’s a good idea to hand it in. This could be at a company’s head office, at Downing Street or a Government ministry. This way, a real person has to receive a physical version of the petition and hear what you have to say, which is guaranteed to get attention.

Is my signature really worth it?

A petition is a great vehicle to demonstrate public support for a topic. For example, the Government may think that the public doesn’t really care about fishes, or Morrisons may think that their customers aren’t aware of the horrors faced by chickens in their supply chain.

By showing that thousands, often tens and hundreds of thousands, of people have added their name to a petition, we can challenge these attitudes. It shows the person signing knows that something is wrong, wants to speak out against it, and is demanding change.

It's perhaps the most empowering thing you can do with thirty seconds!

Petitioning companies

Companies are always trying to paint a positive picture of their brand, and want to emphasise at all times the good they do in the world, as opposed to any harm they are causing. To have a petition aimed at them, which references the company by name (even worse if their branding is featured too), poses a real risk to their public image. It’s a public relations nightmare and this can, and has, encouraged a company to treat animals better.

Companies are also very aware that the thousands of people who have added their name are potential customers of theirs that they’re missing out on by treating animals poorly. Given that companies are driven by the bottom line, anything that alienates customers is a problem that needs to be fixed.

We don’t just launch petitions against companies to be annoying - we do it because we know that animals deserve better. Sometimes, a push is needed for the food industry to treat them with respect and to stop cruelty.

Petitioning the Government

Petitioning the Government can be successful for similar reasons - the Government also doesn’t like to be called out for its failings, despite being somewhat used to bad press.

Government petitions can also serve a different and very useful purpose. When it comes to policy change, there are a lot of different issues competing for Government time.

The decision-makers within Government, whether that’s the Prime Minister himself or civil servants, need to be convinced that a particular issue is worth prioritising. If huge numbers of people have signed a petition, it shows that it is something that is important the British people. The Government works for us - so you are well within your rights to petition them to take something seriously if it's close to your heart.

As for giving your information when signing a petition, it can be really useful for us to be able to demonstrate to MPs that people in their constituency care about animals. If thousands of people from a town or city back a cause, it should become a priority for the MP for that area. Providing your postcode or city when filling out a petition can make this possible.

What you can do

We know that petitions are everywhere, for all manner of causes - from human to animal rights, from serious to light-hearted topics. This may make you think that they lack the power to make change.

Petitions by themselves aren’t always enough to bring results, but there’s no denying that they are a powerful part of our toolset and perhaps the best way to show mass support for the animals. Therefore, we believe it’s worth each of those thirty seconds it takes to sign!

If you'd like to receive future petitions and other campaign actions, make sure you are signed up to receive our emails.