WHEREAS , it can be said that one objective in granting rights is to reduce suffering and enhance flourishing, so the use of sentience as the main characteristic may be more appropriate, and
WHEREAS , it was the trailblazing philosopher Jeremy Bentham who wrote in 1879, "The question is not, Can they reason? nor, Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?", and
WHEREAS , sentience is the characteristic of consciousness whereby an organism has a sufficient level of awareness to experience suffering, and
WHEREAS , sentience has been proven to be a characteristic not exclusive to homo sapiens sapiens, and
WHEREAS , it is therefore a fact that the restriction of the normative and legal discussion and codification of rights to humankind is an unacceptable case of anthropocentric speciesism.
Therefore, be it enacted that El Lex 5.3.13 which currently reads:
10 December. Human Rights Day. A suggested method to celebrate Human Rights Day is reviewing Article XI of The Organic Law and/or the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Is amended to read as:
10 December. Sentient Rights Day. A day to celebrate the dignity and honor the rights of all sentient beings.
Therefore, be it further enacted, that the Ziu of the Kingdom of Talossa, adds a new section to El Lex F as follows:
F. 43 The Kingdom of Talossa endorses the transition in considerations from a legal and moral regime prioritising the protection of the rights of humankind to one that seeks the protection of the rights of all sentient beings.
Ureu q'estadra så,
Breneir Tzaracomprada (Seneschal)