On a daily basis my Twitter feed and Facebook are filled with countless causes and petitions that call for supporters to up arms and join the fight for the protection or prevention of something in regards to the welfare and conservation of animals and their natural habitat. What a lot of people don't know is that I only follow a few, and for good cause...here is why. When something catches your eye in the news, or from a post, or even a personal experience, it is hard in most cases to stand by and just let it be. It is in the true nature of an animal lover, activist or campaigner to automatically raise the gauntlet in challenging the powers that be to 'sort it out', and you can help, in many ways, IF you do it right.
More often or not I am given links and recommendations for various petitions, often for the same cause, some even on the same sites, and this is extremely counter-productive in the fight against the wrong-doers of this world. I tend to read each article, news report, petition, and when available research reference materials, to get a bigger picture of the cause I am offering my support to. Whilst doing this, I notice so much emotion and involvement in the fight, that in many cases the petitions miss the point. It is of utmost importance, especially with news stories and petitions that the facts are CORRECT. If a petition is signed on the basis of false evidence and data, in most cases, irrelevant of your battle to gain 100,000 signatures, it will more than likely be thrown out on the basis of this false pretence, there is no harm in doing your research.
When setting up a cause, a petition, or even just writing a news piece, there are a few things you NEED to do to ensure you are taken seriously, and more importantly gain the attention of the people you are petitioning, the public you are rallying, and also the national and international media, who are your biggest tool in your fight. Here are a few suggestions to get you started.The first thing you should ALWAYS do, and it involves a little research, is to see if anyone has done it before. I know it sounds a commonsensical idea, but the number of people who set up petitions or write stories, and wonder why people don't respond to them, is usually on the basis that there are already charities, causes, or campaigners who have done it before, in many cases, having succeeded. This also comes down to checking the time period of events you are reporting, a news piece on a story from last December will get a lot less of a response, and is almost guaranteed to have been reported and acted on before, than an instance of welfare abuse that happened yesterday, or in some cases, has yet to happen.
One of the most important things you also need to establish is the target of your document. If it is a petition, do your background checks and ensure that you are writing about, or to, the specific member(s) of the organisation, or company, that you need to address it to. In some cases this could be an environmental officer, president, CEO, animal welfare representative, etc... If the petition or article is aimed at the wrong person, there are many instances where your hard work will just get thrown out with the rest of the trash.
The next thing you need to do, and this is by far the most important of all, is research, research, research!!! Research everything from top to bottom, from the main body and content of the debate or topic, to the statistics and figures you are referring to. It is important to focus on facts, and try to include only facts (not feelings - I know this can sometimes be hard). Get hold of documents, papers, research publications, copies of laws, policy statements, company mission statements, as well as first person accounts, evidence and experiences. If you cover all your bases and have the information at hand to back up any claim you wish to make, then there will be A LOT less trouble in getting media support, and minimal fight from the target's of your document. In the case of a petition, communication is key. There are three elements a petition needs to be effective, these are the situation, the resolution and the reason. Keep it simple and basically state what is going on, what needs to be done and why, it is that simple. You will also want to include a deadline, and a target goal of signatories, in many cases you may need to contact the people who are being petitioned (especially in the case of council or government) in regards to getting knowledge of a required petition size for an audience about reform of your issues.
The final thing you need to do is get your cause out there. If you are a journalist, then you will have channels to distribute your information through media and news sites, blogs and other multimedia formats. If not, fear not, as it is as simple as getting an email template drafted up with an outline of the cause or news story, in press release form, and contact your local, national, and international media reporters. With the world of viral internet - Facebook, Blogger and Twitter - there are endless possibilities for the distribution and rallying of support for your cause, a lot of the biggest petitions to date have been driven forward through response on Facebook and Twitter. The only other really important thing to do is get some support. Find like minded enthusiasts and campaigners who can help distribute through their channels, join web groups dedicated to campaigning, and approach major campaign organisations like PETA, WWF, your regional SPCA, etc... The other thing you can try and do is get celebrities on board, there is nothing that screams media attention than a celebrity tweet or blog about how they would like to rally the support of their fans in spreading word of YOUR cause.
That is about it, the one thing I will say is that it IS hard work, you really have to put a lot of effort in, from the research right through to deadline, in most cases spending hours a day online emailing, contacting, researching, and supporting your cause through to the finish. I would recommend you do ALL the background before getting started, as in a lot of cases, people just aren't aware of the amount of effort this area of campaigning and reporting entails, so be sure you are prepared for the workload and commitment required to make a difference.Useful sites for petitions, blogs, causes, etc.
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