From an early age I have been affected by animal cruelty. I was 9 years old and I stumbled upon some very graphic pictures of animal cruelty. I just couldn't comprehend why anyone would want to harm and torture such a beautiful and helpless animal. I cried for weeks in my bedroom after seeing those pictures, it was heartbreaking knowing that I couldn't do anything to help them.

As I've grown older, I have now become very aware of the fact that I can make a difference, we all can! That's why I've become the ambassador for Animals Australia - and why I would encourage you to support their crucial work.

Animals Australia is campaigning for an end to factory-farming - where millions of animals are treated like production units rather than living beings that feel pain and fear. Factory farming is a serious issue in this country, and as it stands, there are no laws protecting our animals against it.

Most people wouldn't know what goes on behind the closed doors of factory farms, and it wasn't until recently that I discovered the ugly and extremely upsetting truth for myself. In Australia some 11 million hens are still confined to battery cages and over 250,000 mother pigs endure lives of abject misery. If you are NOT vegetarian or buying free range products at the supermarket, then I'm sorry to say, you are supporting factory farming.

In factory farms rows and rows of pregnant pigs are lined up in stalls the size of their own bodies. They have no room to move, no room even to turn around. Their movement is limited to standing or lying on hard concrete or metal floors that often cause painful sores. The only day they will see the sun shine is the day they are taken off to be killed.

Recently my heart broke as I saw one pig (who didn't have the strength or room to stand up) trying desperately to nudge herself to the front of her cage so that she could stick her tongue out and lick a drop of water that had fallen by the drain. She was skin and bones and severely dehydrated. For the last month, she had been left there to die in the cruelest possible way - and this is a piggery that supplies one of our major supermarkets. It's appalling and saddening to know, that Australia is so far behind other countries when it comes to the welfare of our animals.

The UK have banned keeping pregnant pigs in cruel 'sow stalls'. Yet in Australia it is still legal to keep these sensitive animals confined barely able to move for their entire four month pregnancy. Our politicians have abandoned these animals so it is up to us to vote for change every time we go to the supermarket. Factory-farms will no longer exist if we refuse to financially support animal cruelty. In the UK - a number of major supermarkets are now only stocking free-range eggs.

I ask you to take five minutes of your time to look at these videos, so you can understand what goes on in these factory farms.

It was recently proven that a pig shares the same intelligence as a family dog or a 3 yr old child. Would you put your child or family pet through these conditions?

If you answered no, then please help put a stop to factory farming by refusing to purchase factory-farmed products. All products not labelled Free Range are factory farmed.

And please also remember that if you love animals and don't want to see them suffer the very best choice of all is the one that I have made - not to eat them!