The petition, which has been shared on 38 Degrees, was set up by Susan Ingram.
She demands that a minimum legal age requirement be set in place at ear piercing salons, to ensure that babies and toddlers cannot have their ears pierced.
When asked why she feels this is such an important issue, Susan writes passionately: “It is a form of child cruelty. Severe pain and fear is inflicted upon infants unnecessarily.
“It serves no purpose other than to satisfy the parent's vanity. Other forms of physically harming children are illegal- this should be no different.”
The petition has received a lot of support, with one person adding: “Smacking a child is abuse, so how come sticking metal rods through their ears is not abuse?!”
At the time of writing, the petition had gained 26,326 signatures. When it reaches 30K, it will be sent to Edward Timpson, the minister for children.
In many cultures, ear piercing is seen as a tradition; in Spain and Latin America, it's very common to give a new mum gold ear studs for her newborn, and for the baby to leave the hospital wearing them.
Roxana Soto, co-founder of Spanglish Baby, explained: 'For Latina moms, piercing their baby girls’ ears has nothing to do with vanity. It’s a cultural tradition.’
And the American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP) have said that there is very little risk, at any age, if the piercing is performed carefully and cared for conscientiously.
Dr. Dyan Hes, medical director of Gramercy Pediatrics, added that, although she thinks that a baby should have a tetanus shot before having the procedure done, "after 2 months it is usually fine if they’ve been vaccinated."
However most medical professionals do recommend waiting until a child is old enough to take care of the piercing herself, for purely practical reasons.