The stance of &quot;caution and respect&quot;, as you put it, is not without its perils.<p>If we accept that animals are conscious, the amount of laws we&#x27;d have to put in place to protect them would very likely have lasting detrimental impacts on the quality of life for the world&#x27;s poorest peoples.<p>Given that we <i>know</i> humans to be conscious, I think we must err on the side of protecting humans first and foremost, even if that means to the possible detriment of other potentially conscious entities.