We demand that the Hopwood Hall College does not send their pigs to slaughter but instead releases them to a sanctuary. This petition's main objective is to stop the killing of animals owned by this college and cared for by its students. If the decision makers have no compassion for the animals and are willing to completely disregard the meaning of the words "animal care", then we demand that they show some compassion and regard for their own students at least.

The students of the animal related courses at this college (Animal Care, Animal First Aid, Animal Nursing, Animal Management) should not be subjected to the cruelty of raising animals as part of their course and then seeing them sent to be killed. Students who choose to study animal related subjects usually do so because they care for animals and want to learn how to provide the best living conditions for them. One of those students is Izzy Ross who joined Hopwood Hall College last year and was unaware that by enrolling on her course she was signing up to raise animals destined for the slaughterhouse.

Izzy and many other students of the college undoubtedly and understandably find this very traumatic and they have the support of a large number of members of the general public to stop these animals from being killed. Over 60% of the respondents of the online poll initiated by the www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk have voted for the pigs to not be slaughtered. The college's online ratings have been steadily dropping since this news broke out. This is a strong indication of the general public's opinion in this matter. Izzy's mother Sarah-Jane was quoted by the news site as saying: “We don’t agree that this is how animals should be treated - especially at a learning facility."

We the signatories of this petition agree fully with this statement and demand that the Hopwood Hall College sets a precedent in how all educational institutions should treat their animals. Giving the students the option of not participating is not enough. The only acceptable answer is to stop killing animals in the name of "education and employment preparation".