[nostromo]

I see it as a continuum not as a black and white situation. The higher an animal is on the Encephalization quotient, the more respect they deserve.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encephalization_quotient

This is why I think it's ok to swat a mosquito that's being annoying, but not to euthanize a monkey that's being annoying.

[_audakel]

From the wiki article. Never heard about a eq score before.

Mean EQ for mammals is around 1, with carnivorans, cetaceans and primates above 1, and insectivores and herbivores below. This reflects two major trends. One is that brain matter is extremely costly in terms of energy needed to sustain it.[19] Animals which live on relatively nutrient poor diets (plants, insects) have relatively little energy to spare for a large brain, while animals living from energy-rich food (meat, fish, fruit) can grow larger brains. The other factor is the brain power needed to catch food. Carnivores generally need to find and kill their prey, which presumably requires more cognitive power than browsing or grazing.[20][21] The brain size of a wolf is about 30% larger than a similarily sized domestic dog, again reflecting different needs in their respective way of life.[22]

[kpil]

I think average neuron count in the cerebral cortex is good if not better. Some really large animals are outliers, but the EQ score is probably misleading in smaller animals.

(Except for birds and fish, but hey...)