Petition to Stop a Rat or Mice Cull

Here are some tips to create a petition against a cull of rats and/or mice in your area:

You can create a free petition online, for example on Change.org
Keep the text of the petition short, to the point and easy to understand, as people don’t always have a lot of time. We have some suggested wording below.
Be polite. People will be put off by rude or offensive petitions, even if they’re sympathetic to your goals.
Ask someone to spellcheck and proofread it or send it to us and we’ll help.
Share your petition as widely as possible with friends, family and social media groups.
You could add a picture you have taken of a mouse or a rat. If you don’t have any, there are websites which offer royalty-free pictures, such as Pixabay.

Here is some suggested wording for your petition (please amend in line with the information you have):

Title: Stop [Name of organisation]’s plans to cull rats and/or mice*!

Please help us oppose [whose] plans to cull rats and/or mice* at [location].

Methods used to cull rats and/or mice* can cause terrible suffering. Rodent poisons, typically cause animals to die from internal bleeding and this horrific process can take several days. During this time the animals will remain conscious and experience symptoms, such as pain, thirst, dizziness and fear. Apart from causing pain and distress to the animals who are the intended target, poisons can also damage the environment and may affect non-target species, such as birds of prey or cats. Snap traps (a ‘traditional’ trap which aims to break the animals' neck) may not kill rodents instantly and so animals can be left to suffer a slow and painful death.

As well as being cruel, killing rats and/or mice* does not work, so it is a waste of resources. If there is a good source of food in an area and the environment remains attractive, any reduction in the numbers of rats or mice will quickly be reversed by other animals coming to take their place.

There are many cost-effective humane alternatives to culling rats and/or mice*, these include using indoor and outdoor sonic repellents and ensuring buildings are well maintained and that holes are blocked.

I have emailed [who] with details of humane, non-lethal alternatives to culling. Please contact them too at [add email] and share this petition as widely as possible.

Thank you.

*Please amend as appropriate.

Add other details if you have them, for example, when the cull is likely to take place, if you know what methods they will be using, how many animals are likely to be targeted, are other animals in the area, such as cats, dogs, hedgehogs and wild birds at risk.