This is an interesting point I haven't considered: a sort of categorical consciousness created by our language that is false if not even demeaning. The "animal" as but another version of the "non-human"--a sort of second-rate, non-descriptive rank-name whose sole value is as justifying a generic devaluation and fictive inclusiveness of all non-human species.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Neu4kI_Yi0A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Neu4kI_Yi0A