It’s undeniably anthropocentric, but most people dole out empathy to other creatures on a sliding scale roughly based on how much those creatures remind us of ourselves, i.e.
Close family member > friend > stranger > lowland gorilla > dog > rat > insect > plant > benign bacteria > harmful virus
I think a sliding scale of rights based on similar criteria may have a better shot at success than just designating certain favored species “legal persons.”
