Science shows that animals are intelligent beings, decision-makers and capable of using empathy

First I would like to mention:
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A sentient being is a being who is subjectively aware; a being who has interests; that is, a being who prefers, desires, or wants. Those interests do not have to be anything like human interests. If a being has some kind of mind that can experience frustration or satisfaction of whatever interests that being has, then the being is sentient.

We engage in speciesist thinking when we claim that a being must have a humanlike mind to count morally. That is, it is speciesist to claim that a being must have a reflective sense of self awareness, or conceptual thought, or the general ability to experience life in the way that humans do in order to have the moral right not to be used as a resource. As long as there is someone there who is subjectively aware and who, in that being’s own way, cares about what happens to him or to her, that is all that is necessary to have the moral right not to be used as a resource.
"
Quote: http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/sentience/
 This notion that animals only act upon instincts is wrong. They are real persons just like us. Anyone with a good relation to e.g. a companion animal understands they are persons with their own desires, wants and feelings, and that they also are making decisions.

Furthermore:
Interesting article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323869604578370574285382756.html

One quote: "The one historical constant in my field is that each time a claim of human uniqueness bites the dust, other claims quickly take its place. Meanwhile, science keeps chipping away at the wall that separates us from the other animals. We have moved from viewing animals as instinct-driven stimulus-response machines to seeing them as sophisticated decision makers. "

Another quote:
"Dale Peterson, one of the world’s leading chimpanzee researchers, once mentioned to me that he believes chimps given the opportunity to satisfy their hunger with plant sources may very well ponder the morality of eating other animals. Could they be evolving ethically, just as we humans are?"

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Emma V Schmebri:
I'm not 'humanising' cows. It is a fact that cows, like other mammals experience a range of emotions. (we have been through this before). Simply because you don't understand them and are unable to perceive the different ways in which they express these emotions doesn't make them less valid. We also use instinct when caring for our Young.


Fish:
"Rather than simply being instinct-driven, the group says fish are cunning, manipulative and even cultured. "

Recent research had shown that fish recognised individual "shoal mates", social prestige and even tracked relationships.

Scientists had also observed them using tools, building complex nests and exhibiting long-term memories.
The scientists added: "Although it may seem extraordinary to those comfortably used to pre-judging animal intelligence on the basis of brain volume, in some cognitive domains, fishes can even be favourably compared to non-human primates."

They said fish were the most ancient of the major vertebrate groups, giving them "ample time" to evolve complex, adaptable and diverse behaviour patterns that rivalled those of other vertebrates.
"These developments warrant a re-appraisal of the behavioural flexibility of fishes, and highlight the need for a deeper understanding of the learning processes that underpin the newly recognised behavioural and social sophistication of this taxon," said the scientists.
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_yorkshire/3189941.stm

----Swedish:Vi vet att t.ex. fiskar är självbestämmande och medvetna individer, med förmågan att känna lidande och har vissa kognitiva förmågor som är på samma nivå som ickemänskliga primater:
http://bloganders.blogspot.no/2013/03/science-shows-that-animals-are.html