thanks for taking it into consideration. and i don't want to be misconstrued. i don't think a chimpanzee or orangutang should have rights in our society. They aren't us. They can't be a functioning member of our society, nor would they desire that.
Like you say, We already have laws about cruelty to animals, and AFAIK they take into account the requirements for the animal in question. I'm good with that.
Personally, I think the differences between our minds and the minds of many animals is not as great as we like to fool ourselves into thinking. Our minds come up with great narritives about why we love and hate and fear. They are undoubtedly far more intricate than what a chimpanzee is experiencing, but i'm of the belief that it's not the emotion that separates us from them, just the story we tell ourselves. In a sense, it's an illusion that makes us think we are different.
I'm no PETA member though. I'm ok with eating animals. I'm ok with using animals. The world worked that way long before us. All i',m looking for is doing these things with an understanding of what the true impact is.