By definition, a non-human creature displays some human characteristics but not enough to be considered a human. Theoretically intelligence, affection, memory, pain, and problem-solving skills in animals indicates sentience. They are not human and are not bound by human law and responsibilities, but they undoubtedly deserve to be treated well.
A major legal right that animal rights activists promote for non-human persons is the right to self preservation. Countless dogs have been put down (euthanized) in punishment for hurting a human. It does not matter what harm the human caused the animal. The circumstances do not change the outcome if the injured human wishes to press charges. I remember when my sister was bitten by a neighbor’s dog at a barbecue one summer. I don’t remember if the dog felt cornered or just annoyed but it happened and our neighbor left a big bag of chocolate kisses on our doorknob a day or two later to apologize. I thought it was a cute gesture then but I know now that she probably feared for the life of her furry companion. My sister wasn’t abusive but a dog should be able to reasonably defend itself from a threatening situation without being killed for it.
It’s actually quite difficult to specify which animals qualify as non-human persons. We certainly tend to favor dogs and cats over roaches and rats but who is to say that these creatures do not experience pain just as we do? The point of establishing a position on non-human personhood is to guarantee that intelligent beings are not abused. Certain monkeys, dogs, cats, elephants, parrots, octopi, and many other lovely animals have been considered but I wonder how much further we should go to protect animals. It’s difficult to separate reality and fantasy what with all the fabulous children’s movies available (I’m thinking of A Bug’s Life, Finding Nemo, The Lion King, and The Rescuers Down Under, just to name a few).
If I were hard pressed to choose the most human-like animals I would add to my list above: dolphins and pigs. I will not add snakes- they are popular pets but I once read of a woman who was so close with her snake they shared a bed until a behavior specialist announced the snake was just waiting to grow big enough to eat her. I don’t know how true the story is but it’s enough to stop me. Non-human personhood can probably be determined scientifically by brain scans or some such technology but we probably shouldn’t push around our fellow creatures so much anyway. I say we forget this complicated notion and just treat animals kindly and fairly. Would that be too hard?
