Each January, the Humane Education Network holds its annual A Voice for Animals high school essay contest.

The following prizes will be awarded to high school students whose essays best promote the humane treatment of animals:

$1000	1st Prize
$600	2nd Prize
$400	3rd Prize
$500	1st Prize (Underclassmen)
$250	2nd Prize (Underclassmen)
$100	3rd Prize (Underclassmen)
$750	Best personal and active involvement in a project or venture that directly impacts animal welfare
$750	Best Personal Activist
$400	Best Essay by a 14 Year Old
$250	Best essay from an entrant outside the United States.
$150	An Essay We Couldn't Ignore

The contest is co-sponsored in part this year by the Palo Alto Humane Society and the Animal Welfare Institute.

Congratulations to our 2009 contest winners!

1st Prize	Kristen VanZant	Technology Boom, Gorilla Bust
2nd prize	Brittany Willingham	The Orangutan's Struggle to Survive the Palm Oil Industry
3rd Prize	Roxanne Olsson	The Voice of the Macaw
Honorable Mention	Muyi Li	Preserving a Cultural Heritage: the Decline of the Dugongs
Honorable Mention	Katherine Peter	The Devastating Impact of Man on the Asian Elephant’s Physical and Social Welfare
Honorable Mention	Christine Shieh	Disappearing Silhouettes in the Savanna Sun: The Deathly Impact of Poaching and Hunting on Black Rhinos
1st Prize (Underclassmen)	Sophia Hu	The Detrimental Effects of Abusive Training and The Denial of Fundamental Needs on the Emotional and Physical Health of Circus Elephants
2nd Prize (Underclassmen)	An Nguyen	The Truth Behind the White Tiger
3rd Prize (Underclassmen)	Dajahi Wiley	Mass Murder: The Politics and Economics of Factory Farming
Honorable Mention (Underclassmen)	Tori Burnett	Lead Poisoning: A Silent Epidemic
Honorable Mention (Underclassmen)	Alex Klintworth	Protecting the Manatee
Honorable Mention (Underclassmen)	Monica Lee	Animal Sacrifice in South African Churches
Best Personal & Active Involvement	Chelsi Sparti	Menace of urbanization – Downfall of development
Honorable Mention (Involvement)	Renee Ceil	Some May Call Me Crazy -- My Dedication to the Welfare of Our Feline Friends
Honorable Mention (Involvement)	Sarah Yeend	Being Human: The Problem of Imprinting in Preditory Birds
Best Personal Activist	Sofia Prado	Huaperros Essay
Best Essay by a 14 Year Old	Cayla Jakubowski	A Call to Action: Cruelty Towards Cows in Factory Farms
Honorable Mention (14 Year Old)	Sadia Ahmed	The Life of a Battery Hen
Honorable Mention (14 Year Old)	Briauna Inglis	Polar Bears: Are They in Danger?
Overseas Prize	Julianna Ko	China's Secret: The Plight of Stray Cats
An Essay We Couldn't Ignore	Megan Garbarini	Elvis--A Shelter Dog To A Ground Zero Hero

Previous winners

Select a winning essay and click the Read Essay button. The essay will open as a PDF file in another window. (Essays shown in gray are not currently available online.)

Select essay ... 2008 Honorable Mention (Freshman) - Tara Deonauth - The Plight of the Eastern Diamondback ... 2008 Honorable Mention (Freshman) - April Dodd - Organisms We Examine 2008 Best Freshman Essay - Cynthia (Xi) Hua - Goldfish Bowls: Art at What Cost? 2008 1st Prize - Tracy Mandel - The Corruption of Chimpanzee Testing and Its Implications for ... 2008 2nd prize - Ashley Eberhart - Equine Soring in the Tennessee Walking Horse Industry- A Dark History 2008 3rd Prize - Emily Reed - Tigers: Endangered Species 2008 3rd Prize - Jennifer Wiegand - Free-Range Puppies? Using the Market Economy to Promote Ethical ... 2008 Honorable Mention - Maricela Jimenez - Dogfighting: America's Latest Vice 2008 Honorable Mention - Ashlee Stafford - The Sport of Kings? The Toll of Racing on the Thoroughbred 2008 Honorable Mention - Lauren Welch - Going Going Gone: The Siberian Tiger Vanishing Act 2008 Best Personal & Active Involvement - Zander Srodes - Turtle Talks 2008 Honorable Mention (Involvement) - Alexandra Hayford - The Perils of Our Garbage 2008 Honorable Mention (Involvement) - Keith Kremlick - Wild Horses Couldn't Drag me Away 2007 Best Freshman Essay - Juliana Joe - Animal Experimentation is Not Helping Anyone 2007 1st Prize - Viridiana Acosta - The Atrocious Impact of Deforestation and Illegal Pet Trade on ... 2007 2nd prize - Teresa Smit - Use of Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone 2007 3rd Prize - Amanda Goldsmith - The Effects of Public Awareness on the Modern Industry of ... 2007 Honorable Mention - Lisa Burley - The Silent Population Problem 2007 Honorable Mention - Shaina Lex - Wildcats: the Newest Family Pet 2007 Honorable Mention - Anamarie Urrutia - Apes in Crisis 2007 Best Personal & Active Involvement - Nicole Mattei-Lince - The Final Ride: The Causes & Effects ... 2006 Best Freshman Essay - Amy Tai - Cockfighting: Inhumane Treatment for Contemptible Pleasure 2006 1st Prize - Brian Nguyen - The Impact of Off-Road Vehicles on the Safety of Tortoises in the ... 2006 2nd prize - Grace Willis - Bats: The Fight for Flight 2006 3rd Prize - Taylor Wasserman - A Voice Against Bullfighting 2006 Honorable Mention - Tiffani Compton - Desert Tortoises: This Year's Throw-Away Pet 2006 Honorable Mention - Katee LoMonaco - It's A Puppy Prison 2006 Honorable Mention - Brian McLeod - "A World of Beliefs" 2006 Best Personal & Active Involvement - Kathryn Hobbs - "Protecting the Dogs that Protect You" - ... 2005 1st Prize - Lisette Arellano - Wildlife Pets: A Deplorable Oxymoron 2005 2nd prize - Sarah Davis - Horse Slaughter: Our Nation's Dirty Secret 2005 3rd Prize - Steven Huang - 21st Century Holocaust 2005 Honorable Mention - Michelle Boire - The Inhumane Treatment of Animals in the United States 2005 Honorable Mention - Wayne Boom - Back on Your Feed and Good as New 2005 Honorable Mention - Bof Safford - Protecting the Prairie Dogs 2004 1st Prize - Michael Jin - Cruelty to Ducks in Foie Gras Production 2004 2nd prize - Dewi Harjanto - The Untold Story 2004 3rd Prize - Rowena Bandigas - The Truth About Vivisection 2004 Honorable Mention - Julie Heade - Torture for Beauty 2004 Honorable Mention - Katie Levy - Animal Testing is a Barbaric Practice 2004 Honorable Mention - Dallas Sherman - Alaska's Aerial Wolf Killing Program 2003 1st Prize - Britney Heredia - Circus Animals 2003 2nd prize - Ohmar Myint - Animal Use in War Research 2003 3rd Prize - Teresa Castro - The Imprisonment of Dolphins for Peoples' Amusement 2003 3rd Prize - Lidia D'Amico - The Cruelty of Keeping Wild, Exotic Cats as "Pets" 2003 Honorable Mention - Samantha Haw - Dog Fighting 2003 Honorable Mention - Neha Prakash - Rehabilitating Ducklings 2003 Honorable Mention - Erin Schwartz - Testing Household Products on Animals 2002 1st Prize - Rebekkah Dilts - Mountain Lions 2002 2nd prize - Mallory Curtis - Lives of Feral Cats 2002 2nd prize - Akira Kobayashi - Torture of Chickens in Modern Factory Farms 2002 3rd Prize - Caroline Chase - Factory Farms Inflict Suffering on Cows, Pigs, and Chickens 2002 Honorable Mention - Tran Ho - Dolphins 2002 Honorable Mention - Brianne Johnson - The Plight of Elephants 2002 Honorable Mention - Heather Sulli - Chickens 2002 Honorable Mention - Amanda Ufheil-Somers - Abolishing Hunting Ranches 2001 1st Prize - Alia Kroos - Imprisonment and Inhumane Treatment of Chimpanzees in Biomedical Labs 2001 2nd prize - Andrew Grundstrom - The Abuse of Greyhounds in the Racing Industry 2001 3rd Prize - Jeff Chien - Which Do You Pet and Which Do You Eat? 2001 Honorable Mention - Jennifer Cheung - Cockfighting 2001 Honorable Mention - Alice Pencavel - Throwaway Toys 2001 Honorable Mention - Cheryl Phillips - Captive Parrots 2001 Honorable Mention - Christina Schmunk - Shrimping and the Plight of Sea Turtles 1999 1st Prize - Nick Sesnak - The Tragedy of Circus Elephants 1999 2nd prize - Andrea Smith - Sacrifice to Vanity: The Killing of Animals for Fur 1999 3rd Prize - Alison Prehn - The Price of an American Tradition

Contest FAQ

No. This is an essay contest with a set of rules and cash prizes. We advertise the contest on scholarship web sites to reach the largest number of eligible high school students.

The dates are usually announced on our web site mid-December after the judges have finalized the rules. The contest usually opens for entries in January and closes in March with results being announced in May.

Essays are accepted only between the contest opening and closing dates. The online form for submitting essays does not appear on this page until the contest opens.

Your essay must be submitted online using a form which appears on this page only while the contest is open for entries. Essays sent to us in any other way (e.g. e-mail or via the postal service) will simply be discarded.

Questions about the essay contest may be sent to contest@hennet.org. E-mail to any other address will not necessarily receive a response.