Ondine Sherman : Co-Founder Voiceless

After realising the enormous scale of animal suffering and cruelty in the world when she was a young girl, Ondine Sherman knew that protecting animals was her destiny. 

The self-confessed animal lover, who became a vegetarian at just seven years old after an ‘aha’ moment at the dinner table, went on to study at the University of Technology Sydney, after which she undertook a masters in environmental studies and began her career working for organisations including WWF Australia.

But Ondine was always looking to find a way to increase her focus on animals and, in the early 2000s, seized the opportunity to create a new organisation dedicated to animal protection, along with her late father, Brian Sherman AM.

As a result, Voiceless was born, hand in hand with a mission to create a just, equitable world where animals could flourish.

“Creating Voiceless with my father was a wonderful opportunity as he was always a huge animal-lover but hadn’t previously focused on institutionalised animal exploitation. Once he started learning about the extent of animal suffering and the hidden cruelty of factory farming systems, he was hugely motivated to make a difference,” explains Ondine, who is also an author and social entrepreneur, as well as a PhD candidate at the University of Sydney, focused on influencing positive values towards animals.

“Voiceless has always been laser-focused on ending the legalised, industrialised mass exploitation of animals. We have adopted many different tools and strategies over the years, including a focus on animal law, in-depth exposes on animal industries, and school-based education programmes.”

As part of its advocacy work, Voiceless has also championed awareness around the cruelty inherent in the live export trade

“We are categorically opposed to live export as well as long-distance land transport of animals due to clear evidence of cruelty,” says Ondine.  

“The suffering that millions of sentient animals experience on these journeys is absolutely outrageous and unacceptable, and our hope is to see a future where this trade comes to an end.

“To this end, it is heartening to see that the Australian government has listened to Australians from all walks of life and brought in legislation to ban live sheep export by sea from May 2028.”

As part of its work in this area, Voiceless has provided grants to organisations for various projects to end live export and has written government submissions and joined coalitions and networks to lobby for bans. 

In recent years, the organisation has also created an education programme for high school students about the ethics of live export – https://voiceless.org.au/schools/live-export/. Encompassing a video, fact sheets and teacher guide, the resources have already been used by thousands of students across Australian schools. 

“We envision a future where animals are no longer considered ‘property’ or subjected to human-induced suffering for food, clothing and entertainment and instead are able to flourish on their own terms in a just and equitable world,” adds Ondine.

“Sadly, with animal exploitation, violence and killing woven into the very fibres of our institutions and laws, this is a long-term vision because the animal protection movement, compared to the power inherent in animal agriculture, is akin to a David and Goliath battle.

“As my beloved father often said, this is a marathon, not a sprint.”

In addition to being the Co-founder and Managing Director of Voiceless –  voiceless.org.au – Ondine is a lauded author of young adult fiction, the Sky, Snow and Star series, featuring an animal-loving vegan teen. She has also published Vegan Living: A Simple Guide to a Cruelty-Free, Healthy Plant-Based Life.