Viva! 8 York Court Wilder Street Bristol BS2 8QH Tel: 0117 944 1000 Fax: 0117 924 4646 email: media@viva.org.uk	12 April 1999 Pam Ferris Celebrates Compassionate Kids On Saturday 17th April, 50 talented and caring under 18s will be awarded prizes by vegetarian actress Pam Ferris and children's TV presenter Emmil Watson for their winning entries in the SCOFF! competition. Taking place at the Charity Centre in Stephenson Way, Euston at 2pm, the winners will receive top prizes of a personal CD player, an adventure break and leather-free jacket and shoes. The Schools' Campaign Opposed to Factory Farming (SCOFF!) is run by the vegetarian charity Viva! and the competition invited young people all over the country to show how they feel about intensive farming through writing essays and poetry or by creating pieces of art. Thousands of children from the age of 5 to 18 entered and the winners will be reading their touching and thought-provoking essays and poetry at the prize-giving. The artwork will be displayed at the Charity Centre from the 17th until the 30th of April and can be viewed by the public free of charge. Viva!'s youth campaigner, Kate Fowler, was astounded at the knowledge and compassion displayed by the young entrants and by the talented works the competition produced. "The young people who entered researched the subject thoroughly and were clearly horrified by what they found," she says. "When they discovered how millions of hens are caged in battery units and how pigs are crammed into barren pens they became determined to speak out for all animals who are unfortunate enough to be born on factory farms." The competition is part of the Schools' Campaign Opposed to Factory Farming, launched last year, and has drawn massive support from young people. It encourages them to educate friends and family as to how farm animals are treated and to lobby their MPs with letters, postcards and petitions. "SCOFF! has given a voice to voters of the future" explains Pam Ferris, star of Where the Heart Is and Matilda, "and it has allowed them to express what is important to them. For many, environmental and animal issues are top of the list. They do not want to inherit a system where animals are routinely abused and they are determined to create a more compassionate future. With such a strong awareness of the pain and suffering intensive farming inflicts on animals and the damage it causes to the environment, these youngsters are in a strong position to change the system. I feel that with such courage and compassion there is a very real hope for the future."   For further information, copies of the winning entries or photographs of the winners, please contact Kate Fowler or Juliet Gellatley on 0117 944 1000.