It is legal to toss a rock, a small bush, a mosquito, or a earthworm into a fire in most places. In those same places it is likely illegal to toss a live cat i

It is legal to toss a rock, a small bush, a mosquito, or a earthworm into a fire in most places. In those same places it is likely illegal to toss a live cat into a fire. In this context sentience is about "should I care about how this clump of atom _feels_" and/or "it is possible to be unduly cruel to this clump of atoms". In farming it mostly means that you cannot cause unnecessary suffering too much outside of the Overton window; not about recognizing bodily autonomy to cattle.