The meeting being organized, the Magpie read the following Resolutions:
Resolved, That it is our right, as it is our duty, to shake off the galling yoke of the human race, and to assert our paramount claims to the exclusive enjoyment of the earth; to resume our freedom in the forests, or the plains, or the swamps, as we please, and to lead the life which is best suited to our instincts.
Resolved, That work is a nuisance, and that any animal who proposes any form of labor, shall be handed over to a committee, consisting of the Lion, the Bear, and the Wolf.
Resolved, That all things shall be in common between us, and that no animal shall be permitted to claim any thing as his own.
Resolved, That carnivorous animals are earnestly solicited to try a vegetable diet, as more wholesome and more conducive to the comfort of the community than that to which they have been used.
The Animal Declaration of Independence Harper’s January 1857 [edited extract being part 10 in a series of 19]
