A BOLTON schoolgirl is appealing for young people in the town to voice their opposition to live animal exports.

Nicola Powell, 15, of Lever Edge Lane in Great Lever has launched a Bolton branch of VIVA - Vegetarians International Voice for Animals - to fight the export trade.

VIVA members, under the banner "profit knows no morality", were on Victoria Square at the weekend with a petition against live animal exports which many people stopped to sign.

A veal crate used to rear calves in a tiny, confined space was on display and Nicola climbed inside to show shoppers just how little room the animals have.

VIVA claims that 450,000 week-old calves are taken from their mothers every year, mostly to be shipped abroad for a short life of intensive feeding before slaughter.

Nicola said: "I am a vegetarian and a member of the Bolton and District Animal Rights group.

"I do not agree with how animals are treated and want to get young people in Bolton interested in animal rights issues. The trade in exporting live animals is a major problem and needs to be sorted out.

"A couple of months ago I went on a demonstration for young people in Preston organised by VIVA which is a national organisation.

"At the demonstration VIVA founder and director Juliet Gellatley asked me to become an organiser in Bolton.

"We need to get even more young people involved. They are the future generation of voters who can make a stand against the government and I am confident they can force them to stop live animal exports eventually."

"The protesters are doing as much as they can but once the animals leave the country there isn't much they can do. It makes me angry when I realise we can only do so much."

Demonstrations for young people such as the one in Preston are held all over the country. VIVA members have also travelled abroad to take part in marches. Nicola, who attends St James' CE Secondary School in Farnworth added: "A lot of my schoolfriends have become vegetarian and joined Bolton Animal Rights. Many of them have already joined VIVA too."

VIVA members wear purple ribbons and march with a purple flag in memory of Jill Phipps who died at Coventry Airport during a protest against live animal exports.

The airport was covered in ribbons after her death and members wear them as a sign of what she died fighting for.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.