I am not going woke

But this time I am on the side of the Snails😆

Photo by Zdeněk Macháček on Unsplash

This obviously requires some explanation.

A head line recently caught my attention declaring a snail race had been cancelled by a woke council because animal rights activist had complained it was cruel to snails.

Now the word activist usually brings out a negative re-action in my mind, especially as an animal rights activist recently made a complaint against a farmer claiming the farmer’s dog was worrying sheep.

It transpired the dog was a sheep dog rounding up some of the flock that had escaped onto a road.

My wife and I once witnessed this happening in Cornwall; very impressive, but I am meandering. 🙄

What intrigued me about the headline was not the ban, but who on earth would want to see a snail race?

I mean snails are notorious for moving at a snail’s pace, hardly a race to get the adrenalin going.

However, when I discovered why the race had been banned, I changed my view and did not consider the action in any way woke. Apparently the snail race was advertised as the “World first” electronic racing board.

Now I have no Idea what an electronic racing board is, but having just missed death by electrocution a few years ago, I am vehemently against snails or any other creatures, being exposed to any form of electrictronic entertainment.

Snails are animals and I think they should have the rights of protection that other creatures have. OK they are slimy and not as cuddly as kittens or puppies, but they are animals and should have their rights protected.

Writing this article got my me thinking, snails are not looked upon in a good light by most of humanity.

Of course, the main reason for our antipathy to garden snails is the damage they do by eating plants. There are volumes of information from irate gardeners giving testimony to this fact, and probably with some justification: but everybody has to eat, and we do share the same planet.

Therefore, I have decided to see if I could find some kind words about these pesky little gastropods.

If I do, I will get back to you.

In the meantime, I support the ban on the snail race and consider myself on the side of snails.😄

Thank you for reading.

©Barry Robinson 2026

You can read here how I cheated death by electrocution.

***This time I nearly did die.***