Community
15 June, 2023
Teen’s animal cruelty crusade
Petition calls for action against Tik Tok policies
A SCHOOL student and his friend have launched a petition against animal cruelty that garnered over 500 signatures in a week.
Trinity Anglican School year 8 student Noah Solomon, 13, and his friend Holly Finch are on a crusade to get more policies and restrictions in place against animal abuse on platforms like TikTok after a video of a Chinese food blogger allegedly torturing kittens went viral on the platform.
Both teens researched if justice had been served for the man, identified as Xu Zhihu, a food blogger and Weibo influencer. Still, after finding out he had only received a threemonth jail sentence, they decided something needed to be done.
Launching a Change.org petition on May 9 directed to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, UK’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, US President Joe Biden and TikTok’s chief executive Shou Chew, friends and family have backed it up, and the petition has now gathered over 500 signatures.
“I despise animal abusers, and what pulled me to this case was the fact that the man showed no care about it,” Mr Solomon, of Redlynch, said.
“I’m working with two friends.
“We did some research and started the petition.
“I shared the petition with all my friends, and in the past two weeks, we have had over 500 signatures.”
Mr Solomon said that if the petition received more attention, it could lead to policy changes, not only in Australia, but internationally.
“The outcome of the petition is to put the man in jail for a long time ideally, but this might be too difficult to achieve,” he said.
“Our main goal is to highlight that animal cruelty and abuse will not be tolerated in the world, and the governments in developed countries should put more restrictions in place.”
Still promoting his petition and advocating for more legislation on animal cruelty and animal cruelty content online, Mr Solomon encouraged Cairns residents, especially young people, to support the cause.
“Teenagers should fight for what they think is right and try to change the world before it’s too late,” he said.
“I might be young, but at this moment, it is up to young people to change the world, as other generations haven’t taken action themselves.
“I encourage you all to step forward and do what you think is right no matter the cost. “Take Greta Thunberg as an example.”
To support Mr Solomon’s petition, go to: https://bit.ly/43urd2y
