Home Prizes and Sponsorships

PRIZES & SPONSORSHIPS

Voiceless continues to support the growth of the animal protection movement by sponsoring the below prizes and conferences.

Current Prizes and Sponsorships Past Prizes - Eureka Past Prizes - Media Past Prizes - Writing Conferences

CURRENT PRIZES AND SPONSORSHIPS

VOICELESS ANIMAL LAW PRIZE 2025

 

We are delighted to award the Voiceless Brian Sherman 2025 Animal Law Prize to Shatha Hamade!

Shatha perfectly reflects the spirit of the prize with her passion, dedication, and out-of-the-box thinking. She has spent years working to protect animals from cruelty, focusing on law reform and investigations, which often lead to strategic campaigns. Her investigations, for example, have been hugely impactful in uncovering cruelty to animals in the live export trade and ultimately achieving the live export ban. Recently, her work has spotlighted the suffering of pigs in slaughterhouses. Along with her brilliant legal and campaigning skills, Shatha has demonstrated tenacity and courage in her fight to improve the lives of animals, with her work often coming at a personal risk and cost.

Shatha is a true animal rights champion, and we are proud to have her as our Brian Sherman Animal Law Prize recipient. We sincerely thank Dr Meg Good and Dr Sophie Riley for conceiving of and supporting the prize.

From left to right: Dr Sophie Riley, Shatha Hamade and Professor Nick James.

ANIMAL JUSTICE AWARDS – 2024

 

Voiceless was honoured to join the Animal Justice Foundation at the 2024 Animal Justice Awards to support the work of those committed to and effective within the animal justice field. Our Voiceless Award for Youth Advocacy was awarded to Jenna Smith from Jenna’s Page, who had demonstrated passion, commitment, and transformative work for NSW animal rescue shelters and organisations over the past few years.

 

Our Voiceless Award for Animal Protection Education was awarded to Michelle Dranfield, the founder of the farm animal rescue organisation, Happily Heifer After, who utilises innovative and inspiring educational strategies to raise awareness of and promote critical thinking about animal protection issues.

 

Both winners received a bespoke award and $2,500 from Voiceless in recognition of their work.

GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY – VOICELESS ANIMAL LAW PRIZE 2023

 

Voiceless is proud to continue sponsoring Griffith Law School’s annual Voiceless Animal Law Prize. Griffith University teaches the next generation of animal changemakers about using the law to protect animals, and we are proud to congratulate the 2023 award recipient, Amiel Morris, on her outstanding achievement. Amiel spoke to us about her interest in animal law and her plans for the future below.

 

Voiceless: What inspired you to study animal law?

Amiel: When I was a kid, I loved animals. I was obsessed with wildlife shows, I was a part of environmental club at primary school, was environmental captain in year 7, and helped my year 7 class raise money for endangered animals (specifically, as a class we loved orangutangs and other animals from Borneo). I would even have my parents read me animal fact books instead of story books at bedtime.

When I saw Animal Law as an elective option at Griffith, I was inspired to take it by my younger self who always wanted to work with and protect animals. This course opened my eyes to the insane reality of animal welfare law in Australia and the world. It’s something I would never have learnt about without taking the course, and I am so grateful that I did and that I now have this knowledge.

I also have friends who are studying veterinary medicine and marine and conservation biology, and this course has allowed me to have open conversations with my friends about animal welfare and animal rights from varying perspectives. We can challenge our ideas and introduce concepts of animal welfare to our wider friend group. Our conversations continue to inspire me and allow me to continue thinking about animal law.

 

Voiceless: What are your plans for the future?

Amiel: My plans for the future involve further study in law and government and international relations. I adore research and writing, and I am currently in the process of writing my Honours Thesis on social media feminism and law reform in Australia and the United States. I plan to continue my studies somewhere in the feminist law space. Animal law and protection will always have a special place in my heart, and I will continue talking to my community about animal law in Australia and around the world.

Amiel Morris

ANIMAL JUSTICE AWARDS – 2023

 

Every year the Animal Justice Foundation (AJF) provides awards and one-off financial grants to support outstanding animal charities, thought-leading activists, and innovative community organisations who are progressing animal justice. In 2023, Voiceless partnered with the AJF in two categories and the following prize winners were announced:

 

The Voiceless Award for Sanctuary Education was awarded to Edgar’s Mission for its educational strategies to raise awareness and promote critical thinking about animal protection issues. The Voiceless Award for Youth Advocacy was awarded to Emma Hakansson, Founder of Collective Fashion Justice for her demonstrated passion and commitment to the Australian animal protection movement in the past few years.

Both winners received a bespoke award and $2,500 from Voiceless in recognition of their work.

Edgar's MissionEmma Hakansson

GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY – VOICELESS ANIMAL LAW PRIZE 2022

Voiceless is proud to continue sponsoring Griffith Law School’s annual Voiceless Animal Law Prize. Griffith University teaches the next generation of animal changemakers about using the law to protect animals, and we were proud to congratulate the 2022 award recipient, Ella Leitch, on her outstanding achievement. Ella spoke to us about her interest in animal law and her plans for the future below.

 

Voiceless: What inspired you to study animal law?

Ella: I have fostered a lifelong passion for animal rights, and, throughout my academic journey, I seized every chance to delve into the subject matter. Recently, I had the privilege of enrolling in the Animal Law elective at Griffith University which proved to be an excellent course. Not only did it provide valuable insights into the legislative landscape of animal rights in Queensland, but it also allowed me to conduct my own research and propose reforms aimed at bolstering animal protection.

 

Voiceless: What are your plans for the future?

Ella: Should I be fortunate enough to work in Animal law, I hope to contribute to the profession of those dedicated to improving the legal status of animals and the safeguards that this status enables.

Ella Leitch

GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY – VOICELESS ANIMAL LAW PRIZE 2021

 

We congratulate the 2021 award recipient, Renae Sherwood.

 

Voiceless was proud to sponsor the Griffith Law School’s 2021 Animal Law Prize. Griffith University teaches the next generation of changemakers about the law relating to animals, emphasising the relationship between law and the ethics of animal protection. We congratulate this year’s award recipient, Renae Sherwood, on her outstanding achievement.

VOICELESS BRIAN SHERMAN ANIMAL LAW PRIZE ($2,500)

 

The Voiceless Brian Sherman Animal Law Prize is one of the many ways we are honouring the memory and legacy of Voiceless Co-Founder, the late Brian Sherman AM (1943-2022) and his lifetime dedication to animal law and protection. The prize recognises the work of innovative legal advocates committed to the growth of animal law in Australia and reforming the law to promote animal rights. Reflecting the spirit of Brian, recipients must demonstrate innovative entrepreneurial spirit and out-of-the-box thinking in animal law.

 

We congratulate the 2022 award recipients, Mike Rosalky and Naaman Kranz.

 

Mike and Naaman established Australia’s very first generalist private animal law firm in 2018 – K & R Animal Law – and are dedicated to using the law creatively to promote animal rights and protect animals from unjust treatment. Through K & R, Mike and Naaman have helped a range of Australian animal protection organisations and advocates. They are committed to reforming the injustices that exist within our current legal structure by exploring exciting strategic litigation options to improve the lives of animals.

 

Please note that prize recipients were selected unanimously by the prize creators – Voiceless (Ondine Sherman, Kate Grigg), Dr Meg Good and Dr Sophie Riley. All decisions are final. Voiceless Board members, former/current Voiceless staff and recipients of any animal law prizes/scholarships (whether from Voiceless or any other source) conferred in the past two years are not eligible.

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PAST PRIZES

EUREKA PRIZES (2005-2012) – RECOGNISING SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH CONTRIBUTING TO ANIMAL PROTECTION.

2012

Winner: Professor Clive Phillips, University of Queensland Professor Clive Phillips conducts research that improves animal welfare and increases our understanding of attitudes towards animals. The research covers farm, captive-wild and companion animals. Key areas include the export of livestock from Australia, reducing under-nutrition in rangeland animals, improving conditions for captive wildlife and increasing respect for animals. 6 entries

2011

Winner: Professor Paul McGreevy’s Lab, University of Sydney Estimates from the Australian racing industry’s own data suggest that racehorses suffer more than a million whippings annually. While the industry seeks to justify whip use by claiming it enhances performance and safety, Professor McGreevy’s team’s data demonstrate that whipping tired horses in the name of sport is difficult to defend.

2010

Winner: Dr K-lynn Smith and Professor Chris Evans, Macquarie University Dr Smith and Professor Evans are using innovative playback experiments and three-dimensional, dynamic images to shed light on the complex communication of chickens. This new understanding of the chicken’s cognitive capabilities is helping to change public perception of chickens as simple, egg-laying automatons and reveals them for the intelligent, social creatures they are. 6 entries

2009

Winner: Dr Kishore Prayaga, Dr Max Mariasegaram & Stephanie Sinclair, CSIRO Livestock Industries. Dr Carol Petherick, Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries Revolutionising cattle breeding through impressive research into the genetics of breeding polledness in Brahman cattle while developing farmer-friendly strategies for dehorning.

2008

Winner: Dr Maxine Piggott, Post-doctoral Fellow, Monash University For outstanding research into the development of novel DNA methods to study wildlife populations without animal capture or handling. These new methods of species and individual identification from field collected sources of DNA (faeces or hairs) eliminate any risk of stress, injury or death to animals and are of particular benefit to endangered species.

 

VOICELESS EUREKA PRIZE FOR RESEARCH WHICH REPLACES THE USE OF ANIMALS OR ANIMAL PRODUCTS

2007

Winner: Associate Professor Maria Kavallaris, Program Head/ NHMRC RDW Fellow & Dr Sela Pouha Research Officer, Children’s Cancer Institute Australia & Dr Nicole Verrills, NHRMC Peter Doherty Fellow, School of Biological Science, University of Newcastle – For the breakthrough development of new models of drug resistance within cancer cells in childhood leukaemia. Undertaking innovative work in differential proteonomics, Kavallaris, Pouha and Verrills’ research promises new treatment approaches for drug resistant cancers.

2006

Winner: Dr Amanda Hayes, Shahnaz Bakand and Associate Professor Chris Winder, Chemical Safety and Applied Toxicology Laboratories, School of Safety Science, University of New South Wales –
How toxic is the air we breathe? Traditionally, this question is answered by having animals breathe contaminated air. Now, a team from the University of New South Wales has found a better, more humane and cheaper way to test for toxicity, by using human lung cells growing on a membrane.

2005

Winner: Dr Alecia Jenkins, Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne, St Vincent’s Hospital For developing a new model to explore the mechanisms of angiogenesis using adult human arteries instead of animal arteries. Angiogenesis is the formation of new blood vessels from old ones and is important for the treatment of eye diseases, vascular diseases and cancer.

 

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WRITING PRIZES

VOICELESS WRITING PRIZE 2012

 

A selection of lively, engaging and often passionately felt stories and essays revolving around one of the more urgent social and philosophical issues of our times. – J. M. Coetzee, Winner of the 2003 Nobel Prize for Literature, Patron of Voiceless and Chair of the judging panel.
VOICELESS ANTHOLOGY

The 2012 Voiceless Writing Prize sponsored by Australian Ethical Investment, was a short story and non-fiction competition, open to Australian writers, with entries focused on animals produced for food or found in the Australian environment. A collection of ten shortlisted pieces were published by Allen & Unwin as a book and an e-book in 2012.

 

J. M. Coetzee, 2003 Nobel Laureate and twice winner of the Man Booker Prize, chaired the judging panel alongside Voiceless Managing Director, Ondine Sherman; Literary Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald, Susan Wyndham; and former Director of the Sydney Writers Festival, Dr Wendy Were.

 

The joint winners of the competition, and the first two stories in the Anthology were:

 

Wayne Strudwick for Caged and Craig Simpson for Kangaroo. Strudwick’s Caged tells of the horror one boy faces when he encounters the suffering of thousands of caged hens and his struggle to protect them in the face of indifference. Simpson’s Kangaroo details the brutal and traumatic death of a kangaroo and its impact on one woman, changing her life irrevocably.

 

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MEDIA PRIZES

MEDIA PRIZES (2009-2016) – RECOGNISING ACCURATE AND INFLUENTIAL REPORTING ON SALIENT ANIMAL PROTECTION ISSUES.

2009
  • Airlie Ward, ‘Pig Cruelty’, Stateline Tasmania
2010
  • Howard Sacre and Liam Bartlett, ‘Hidden Truth’, 60 Minutes, Channel 9
  • Lesley Robinson and Tracey Bowden, ‘Puppy Farm’, 7.30 Report, ABC
2011
  • Sarah Ferguson and Michael Doyle, ‘A Bloody Business’.
  • Christine Jackman, ‘The claws Come Out’, Weekend Australian Magazine,
  • Caro Meldrum-Hanna, ‘Bad Egg’, 7.30 Report, ABC
  • Cheryl Balfour, series of articles on Eden Park kangaroo cull, Whittlesea Leader
2012
  • Anna Krien, ‘Us and Them: On the Importance of Animals’, Quarterly Essay (Black Inc.)
  • Sarah Dingle and Lesley Robinson, ‘Hunting rights hide horror for dugongs, turtles’, 7.30 Report, ABC
  • Maria Taylor ‘New evidence of flawed science, wishful counting as kangas die for petfood’, District Bulletin
  • Bronwyn Herbert and Lesley Robinson, ‘Disturbing footage prompts calls for duck farming changes’, 7.30 Report, ABC
2013
  • Susan Cheney, “They shoot horses, don’t they?”, Good Weekend
  • Sarah Ferguson and Deb Masters, “Another Bloody Business”, ABC1’s Four Corners
  • Maris Beck, “The monkey farm”, The Sunday Age’s
  • Timothy McDonald, “The quick and the dead”, ABC Radio National’s Background Briefing
2014
  • Graham Archer, proposed Surveillance Devices Act, Today Tonight Adelaide
  • Katrina Fox, Speciesism, ‘The Final Frontier’, ABC’s The Drum
  • Sam De Brito, ‘Confessions of a Vegan’, SMH
  • Lesley Robinson
  • Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop
2015
  • Anne Barrowclough, ‘The Dog that Shamed a Nation’, The Weekend Australian Magazine
  • Fenella Souter, ‘Underdogs’, Good Weekend
2016
  • Sonja Armstrong, Stephen Oliver and Matthew Evans, three-part series – ‘For the Love of Meat’, SBS
  • Caro Meldrum-Hanna and Sam Clark, ‘Australian greyhounds deemed too slow exported to Macau, China against industry rules’, 7.30, ABC TV
  • Please contact Voiceless in case of a missing recipient.

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CONFERENCES

 

MINDING ANIMALS CONFERENCES

 

In 2009, Dr Rod Bennison and Dr Jill Bough coordinated the First International Academic and Community Conference on Animals and Society, to be called Minding Animals, in Newcastle, Australia, which also represented the third biennial conference of the Australian Animal Studies Group.  This successful event, which was the first of its kind, brought together from across the world and from 23 countries, 520 scholars, advocates, policymakers, artists and others who shared an interest in Animal Studies.  The name, Minding Animals, was inspired by Marc Bekoff’s book, Minding Animals, and his life work exploring the emotional world of animals through the discipline of ethology (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002).

 

MINDING ANIMALS CONFERENCE, 13-18 JULY 2009

In 2009, Voiceless financially supported the inaugural Minding Animals Conference, held at the University of Newcastle, Australia.

 

MINDING ANIMALS CONFERENCE, 17-24 JANUARY 2018

In 2018, Voiceless sponsored the 4th Minding Animals Conference, held at the University of Mexico as the official dinner sponsor. Voiceless Director and Grants Advisor Sarah Margo and Voiceless Grants Advisor, Dr Meg Good, were invited speakers at this event.

 

Apply for the Voiceless Grant Program

 

If you are a changemaker dedicated to protecting animals, we would love to hear from you. Click to read our eligibility criteria and expression of interest form to apply.

 

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