One of the moral perversities of religion is the notion that humans are a qualitatively different class of Thing than other animals. That they are created for our use.

Modern science is finding strong evidence that not just mammals but even birds and insects likely have subjective experience, imagination, and real, subjective feelings of pain and pleasure.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/26/science/birds-dreaming-rem-sleep.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/03/books/review/the-arrogant-ape-christine-webb.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/16/science/human-mouse-brains-organoids.html