If there’s one thing we know about Ian Somerhalder (besides the obvious fact that he’s drop dead gorgeous), it’s that he absolutely loves animals. And not just his own — though he does use an adorb pic of him with his beloved cat as his Twitter profile pic — but all animals in general.

Case in point: The Ian Somerhalder Foundation has created a petition to reform the animal cruelty laws in British Columbia, and Ian’s been tweeting up a storm about it!

So, what’s the deal in the B.C.? The petition was spawned by this article in the Vancouver Sun that details an awful incident in which an employee of a sled dog tour company brutally killed 100 dogs due to the slumping economy. The article explains that the employee actually “tried to contact the BC SPCA for help on two occasions” before going to such drastic measures, according to the petition. The problem? “The BC SPCA didn’t investigate the business and turned down the request to shelter the dogs, claiming the dogs were not adoptable.”

Ian’s obviously not one to sit idly by while innocent animals are slaughtered, but he also knows who is really at fault: “We must put a stop to animal cruelty by throwing our voices behind new legislation that regulates the roles of all animal welfare stakeholders and closes the loopholes that fail our animals. The BC SPCA and all animal shelters in British Columbia need to be regulated to follow a ‘rescue and save’ plan, not a ‘seize and kill’ plan.”