These 6 Animal Rights Spoken-Word Pieces Show the Power of Poetry

Posted by Calvin on October 27, 2023

Spoken-word poetry is a creative and powerful way to express yourself. 🗣️ When animal advocates hop on the mic, we have a great opportunity to spread crucial info about cruelty to animals and energize others to speak up for change.

Whether you’re ready to rep animal rights through spoken word or you need to build up your confidence first, watching other young advocates’ performances can help you prepare. Check out these six animal advocacy spoken-word pieces for all the inspo you need:

Aiya Meilani—Youth Speaks Teen Poetry Slam Finals 2019

This 19-year-old became one of the top three finalists in this competition by calling out cruelty to animals. In a slam with all the feels, Aiya Meilani takes us through different ways humans oppress other beings. They ask, “Why would you kill what has the power to create and sustain?” 👏 And besides just pointing out the problem, Meilani helps us envision a world in harmony, with “no bullets devouring the skin of any living being.”

Lucy Cooke—Animal Rights March, London 2017

At the Animal Rights March in London, Lucy Cooke makes one thing clear: It’s our duty to go vegan. Animals’ lives are more important than any temptation, and sentient beings don’t deserve to be violently killed “all for a piece of flesh to put in between your bread.” Their rhyme-filled poem is catchy yet cuts to the core with haunting imagery of slaughterhouses and the message that if you eat animal-derived foods, there’s a victim on the other end of your knife. 😰

PETA—‘But Bacon’ Spoken Word

Has anyone ever made a dumb joke after you told them you’re vegan? 😒 PETA’s spoken-word piece talks directly to those who laugh about living with compassion. The piece points out how ridiculous it is that animals are used for food and “never see the sun until they’re about to die” just bc some humans like the taste of bacon. (Vegan bacon has all the mouthwatering taste with none of the cruelty to animals.) We’ve heard these excuses a lot, but PETA’s spoken word encourages us to clap back and speak up for animals’ rights. You could inspire many potential vegans to finally take the first step. 🥰

Alexander Miller—Raise the Bar Spoken Word Poetry

This spoken word piece starts off with an awesome hypothetical scenario—walking and talking with a cow. 😍 Alexander Miller puts themself in this situation and asks the cow what they want from life. The cow responds, “I’m not asking for much. I just want to be free.” Miller then has a chat with a chicken and a pig, and they both give the same response. Even though this is a made-up situation, it’s true that animals just want their freedom. So when Miller meets up with a human for dinner, why are their cow, chicken, and pig friends on the menu? 🐮🐔🐷

Meta-Four Houston—Brave New Voices 2023

Love orcas and other dolphins? Hate the way places like SeaWorld treat them? We just found your fave slam of the year. 🤩 Meta-Four Houston shows us through a powerful performance that the ocean is not the free market and even gives a shout-out to Shamu, the orca who was captured in 1965, was sold to SeaWorld San Diego and forced to perform for crowds, and died in captivity in 1971. Speaking as orcas, the group drops the mic with this: ”You label us ‘killer whales,’ but we know who is actually killing us.”

Jaimie G—Canadian Individual Poetry Slam Championship 2014

This poet sure does their homework on animal rights issues. Jaimie G spits rapid-fire facts in their performance, blasting animal agriculture for harming our planet and destroying lives. No matter what any label on a piece of meat says, “there’s no such thing as humane slaughter.” Jaimie G also calls attention to experimenting on animals and asks us to imagine if one of our family members were kept in captivity and tortured. There’s no way we’d stand for that, right? Well, animals have friends and fam, too, and they need us to be loud, proud advocates for them. 💪

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