> Why is it OK to not recognize mosquitos, rats, termites, deers, ants, etc etc which meet painful demise by humans as sentient animals while making exceptions

> Why is it OK to not recognize mosquitos, rats, termites, deers, ants, etc etc which meet painful demise by humans as sentient animals while making exceptions for a few? It is not generally seen as morally acceptable to crush/kill a dog under the same circumstances that you would crush/swat a mosquito, so there needs to be some differentiation between these two in law. Both have protections, but the dog has more protections because it has been put in the category of sentient creatures. It’s worth noting that both rats and deers on your list are already classed as sentient in the existing legislation passed in May (at least as far as I can tell, as it covered all vertebrates), and it’s clear that from a practical standpoint ants, termites and mosquitos need to be treated differently. Above all else though it’s a legal definition rather than a social or biological distinction.