Layla van der Merwe’s passion for animals and their wellbeing recently earned her the third prize in the Farm Animal Essay Competition.
Layla claimed the prize in the Compassion in World Farming (CIWF), which seeks to create awareness against the suffering of keeping animals in factories.
Eileen Chapman, Gauteng representative for the organisation added, “We work with government institutions and other stakeholders to find solutions and alternatives to factory farming. We highlight the cruel conditions that farm animals are subjected to in factories for major retailers.”
It is no question that the Grade 7 pupil from Agape Christian School has done her community proud with her plight for “free range” produce. Louise Kruger, her English educator said, “Layla is a very unusual pupil. Apart from being a very diligent student, she also has chickens as pets, she even has names for each one of them. I have no doubt that every word that she put on paper came from an unusual and sincere passion for our feathery friends.”
Chapman concluded that it is essential that young people get involved in causes that are beneficial to the sustainability of animals the world over. The choice to educate from an early age goes a long way in creating a cruelty-free society.
