A Voice for Animals

The contest is supported by a partnership between the Animal Welfare Institute and the Humane Education Network with additional support from the Palo Alto Humane Society.

Our 2024 contest is now closed

Our judges are hard at work reading the entries for the 2024 contest. We will announce the winners on or before Friday, August 16th 2024.

Prizes up to a total of $5900^* will be awarded to high school students whose entries best promote the humane treatment of animals, including:

$500

First Prize (Video by 16-18 year old)

$300

Second Prize (Video by 16-18 year old)

$200

Third Prize (Video by 16-18 year old)

$250

Active Involvement Prize (Video by 16-18 year old)

$350

First Prize (Essay/Photographs by 16-18 year old)

$200

Second Prize (Essay/Photographs by 16-18 year old)

$200

Third Prize (Essay/Photographs by 16-18 year old)

$350

Active Involvement Prize (Essay/Photographs by 16-18 year old)

$400

First Prize (Essay by 16-18 year old)

$300

Second Prize (Essay by 16-18 year old)

$200

Third Prize (Essay by 16-18 year old)

$250

Active Involvement Prize (16-18 essay only)

$400

First Prize (Essay by 14-15 year old)

$300

Second Prize (Essay by 14-15 year old)

$200

Third Prize (Essay by 14-15 year old)

$300

First Prize (ESL, 16-18 year old)

$300

Second Prize (ESL, 16-18 year old)

$200

Third Prize (ESL, 16-18 year old)

$300

First Prize (ESL, 14-15 year old)

$300

Second Prize (ESL, 14-15 year old)

$200

Third Prize (ESL, 14-15 year old)

^*We reserve the right to adjust the number of prizes and the amounts of the prizes based on the entries received.

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.)

Contest FAQ

No. This is an 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.

The rules and requirements for each contest may vary from year to year. The rules for the 2025 contest will appear on this page when the contest dates are announced in December.

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

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

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