What if it is ever determined that animals are sentient creatures and possess that slippery thing we humans think of as the soul? There is a reason i ask. I was deployed to San Diego in the early eighties for a bit and one day took the opportunity to visit the zoo they have there. After an hour or so of looking at the animals in their enclosures i sat down on a bench and rested for a bit. And, you know that feeling you get when someone is staring at you - hard to explain but there it is. I glanced across the walkway and there was a massive gorilla sitting on a rock and he was staring at me. His eyes locked onto mine and I swear that every particle in the space between us boiled from the heat of the hatred in his eyes. It felt palpable. His eyes never wavered and, out of a sense of shame, I had to look away. That incredibly majestic creature had just told me everything i needed to know about his opinion of the human race.
If we can ever prove what was clearly conveyed to me in that look would we treat all creatures as equals or would our conceit keep us from doing so? Would we require proof that intelligence of a sufficient quantity and quality be present before we stop looking at them as other than? Is the human mind capable of making the transition from living over them into living beside them?