Celebrating success in animal protection work is a difficult task.

Many non-profit advocacy groups like Voiceless strive for major milestones such as ending factory farming or replacing the use of animals in experimentation. Reaching these goals requires significant changes in the way our society interacts with and uses animals, not to mention the transformation of a number of entrenched, powerful and profitable industries. Meaningful changes for animals are coming; however, a long and hard road with substantial obstacles lies ahead. This is why it is important for animal advocates to give ourselves credit for small successes in order to maintain our optimism and fortitude.

We invite you to join us to celebrate some of Voiceless achievements.

In a period of only 5 years since its foundation, Voiceless has made significant in-roads into our stated goal of ‘lifting the veil of secrecy’ on factory farming as well as empowering the Australian animal protection and animal law movement.

Voiceless has become well-known for its innovation and ideas and has introduced many ‘first-ever’ initiatives. Voiceless:

Grants

• Established the only existing grants program in Australia that offers funding to other animal protection groups, universities, local councils and community organisations for projects that help animals.
• Holds a special awards event each year that is attended by well-known Australian professionals, decision-makers and celebrities and includes presentations made to the grant recipients by Voiceless Ambassador, Hugo Weaving. The event is a glamorous, red-carpet affair that takes place at high-profile venues such as the Opera House and attracts significant media interest. The Voiceless Awards Event is a totally unique occasion where the fantastic work of all the individuals and groups who make up the animal protection movement is publicly acknowledged and celebrated.
• Launched the Voiceless ‘People’s Choice!’ which is a $10,000 grant awarded to a project voted on by members of the Australian public. The ‘People’s Choice!’ gives all Australians who are concerned about animal suffering the opportunity to do something about it by enabling them to vote online for a project they think is likely to make the biggest difference.
• To date, has provided close to $1 million in funding to more than 70 projects nationwide which we believe have enormous potential to change the way our society treats animals.

Law

• Hired the first full-time Australian animal lawyer and built the first legal team within an Australian animal protection organisation. Today, almost all of Australia’s leading law firms have provided pro-bono services or support to Voiceless and Voiceless receives more applications for volunteer, student internship and secondment positions than it can accommodate!
• Was instrumental in getting Animal Law on the agenda in more than 9 law schools across the Asia-Pacific region. This was achieved by developing a network of academics interested in animal law and by providing workshops and lecture series which confirm the legitimacy of, and substantial interest in, this cutting edge legal area.
• Developed a broad and effective online network of over 280 solicitors, barristers, students, legal academics and law graduates across Australia and New Zealand, willing to engage in and share information and knowledge about animal law.
• Created the first-ever Australian animal law lecture series with key international law experts.
• Supported the establishment of Australia’s first ever Pro Bono Animal Law Service, now PALS@PILCH, originally hosted by Redfern Legal Centre
• Produced Australia’s first comprehensive report on the labelling of animal-derived food products, which has been fundamental in highlighting how consumers can influence positive change for animals.

Education

• Is the only Australian organisation to publish and widely distribute reports on factory farming, including From Paddocks to Prisons: Pigs in NSW Current Practices, Future Directions on the NSW pig industry, From Label to Liable: Scams, Scandals and Secrecy on animal-derived food product labelling and From Nest to Nugget: an exposé of Australia's chicken factories on the meat chicken industry.
• Created, in conjunction with Animals Australia, an unprecedented national print advertising campaign to educate the Australian community about the factory farming of pigs. With the pro bono assistance of leading advertising firm LOUD, advertisements were placed in popular women’s magazines, including Women’s Weekly and Woman’s Day, as well as newspapers across the country. Outdoor advertisements were also used for bus interiors and massive billboards at train and bus stations in all major cities around Australia. The campaign came about with the assistance of two key corporate sponsors, the Berg Family Foundation and Hunter Hall International Limited.
• Initiated the first and only network of clubs in Australian schools focused on helping animals. Over 1,000 students across the country were a part of Animal Club, engaging in animal protection advocacy. Animal Club culminated annually in a Humane School Prize as formal recognition of schools that help animals. In 2009, Animal Club merged with the Jane Goodall Institute's 'Roots and Shoots' program.
• Formed the first and only network of university societies focused on helping animals.  Voiceless Animal Advocates (VAA) empowered law students to make a difference to animals using their growing legal knowledge and skills. Students in more than 90% of Australia’s law schools registered as part of VAA.  In 2008, Voiceless awarded the inaugural VAA 'Student of the Year' Award to Shatha Hamade, the VAA Leader at the University of Melbourne.

  We look forward to the continued growth of Voiceless’s projects and networks as well as the launch of further initiatives in the future.

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