Dear vegans, animal lovers, tennis players…and all compassionate people, Please sign this petition imploring tennis ball companies Wilson, Babolat, Penn and Dunlop to end the practice of including wool in tennis balls – and to instead produce certified vegan (animal-free) tennis balls. Show your support after signing by promoting this initiative on social media using the #MakeTennisVegan hashtag. ------------------ Popular opinion holds that the shearing of sheep is a necessary, even kind act.  Regrettably, however, and to the severe detriment of sheep, this is a major misconception.  In fact, farm sheep are commonly horribly mistreated and, once they no longer produce marketable wool, they are put to slaughter. Another largely unknown point is that the large majority of tennis balls contain wool from sheep, thereby bringing cruelty into an otherwise joyful sport.  And given the numerous readily available synthetic materials with properties similar to wool, this deeply unfortunate situation could rapidly be remedied.  Actually, there are already tennis balls in the marketplace that are unintentionally vegan, but are not labeled or marketed accordingly. As such, we, the signers of this petition, urge the leading tennis ball manufacturers in the United States to no longer make use of wool in the production of tennis balls – and to instead produce the balls with animal-free materials.  By doing so, the leaders of these companies are offered the opportunity to spare a practically countless amount of sheep from exploitation and death, and to contribute profoundly to an ever-growing movement away from the human consumption of animal products and toward a kinder, healthier and a more just and sustainable society.   For certain, those among us who play the sport of tennis will be elated to purchase vegan tennis balls, and we will be forever grateful that we may finally play our beloved sport worry-free. For more information: https://sheeps.tennis/campaign