Please tell me, what would you do
if you were confined in a zoo
and all of the animals
from lizards to camels
strolled around pointing at you?
Now tell me, how would you feel,
if you were encased behind steel
while the chimpanzees
watched your antics with glee
and laughed at you eating your meal?
So, what if the tables were turned?
It’s time the corrupted ones learned
just like human beings
those creatures have feelings
and all of us should be concerned.
Inspired by the Government’s recent faux pas (how’s that for an understatement?) over the sentience of animals.
by JANE PATERSON BASIL
© All rights reserved 2017
unbolt me 
That faux pas was truly awful. Michael Gove, what a rotter. Loved the poem. Witty! Fun!
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We loved it too! Thanks so much for reading!
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love this! I always cheer for the apes in War of the Planet of the Apes! 🙂
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I love those guys. So soulful! (And destructive.) 😛
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This is brilliant!
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We totally agree, Thea. Thanks for reading Jane’s work! 😛
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I find writing a great, positive way to express thoughts and feelings; looks like you do too. Well put!
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Take a bow, Jane! 😀
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Hey thx for checking out my blog!! I hope you liked it. I have trying to make it more personal in order to relate to others and encourage them. If you have any feedback for me, please don’t hesitate to tell me xxx
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No problem!
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A wonderful way to get across an important issue.
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That’s what we thought, which is why we simply had to share it. Thanks for reading, Sarah!
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Believe it or not it’s not the first time I’ve thought about how I would feel if I was engaged In a zoo and ‘the tables were turned’ so to speak. In a way, I’m encouraged by zoos because I’m frequently being told ‘it’s better for the animals and they’d struggle to live without being looked after’ but in other ways I feel like screaming ‘it’s not right! These animals don’t belong here and they should be able to live in the wild where they belong!!’ Anyway I love animals and I loved this post because it’s one of those posts that just make me think about things ❤️
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I love how thought provoking this poem is. It’s one of those difficult areas really. In an ideal world, no animal would ever be locked up in a zoo. However, there are many endangered species that are only still in existence because of the conservation efforts of zoos… so… it’s a bit of a thorny conundrum. 😛
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http://www.theplaidzebra.com/human-zoos-one-europes-shameful-secrets-ended-50s/
We’ve come around to the idea that all human beings are people only recently.
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Interesting article, John. I think this adds to the discussion quite nicely. Thank you for reading.
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I’ve thought of this before. Indeed. I agree.
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Yes, it’s good to think about this from the animals’ perspective, that’s for sure. 🙂
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LOVE THIS.
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Isn’t it terrific? 😀
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