I think that sentient animals
Can suffer awful pain
If we deny they’ve feelings
No one stands to gain.
We are human creatures
Who share our planet Earth
With all the other animals
And all have come to birth
We cannot claim a greater right
To live our lives in peace
So has the tortoise in her shell
The sheep clothed in her fleece.
A slug is sentient, they like the damp
And they react to pain
They also have their rights like us
Although they lack a brain
A chimpanzee has DNA
Almost the same as man
And some show more intelligence
Than a human baby can
That baby has her rights of course
In time, she’ll get the vote
Democracy for toddlers
So if child, why not chimp- or goat?
So all that lives upon this earth
The birds and beasts and bugs
Need their rights protecting
So why not votes for slugs?
Steve Blakesley © September 2016
Taid of Life 