I read a fascinating article the other day in which author David Nibert articulates what I was trying to say about language in a much clearer way, and explains how even the term non-human animal is still distancing and divisive in that it accepts humans as the norm (I guess we really are the centre of our own universe!) while placing animals in the realm of other. And of course the norm is usually more valued. I also like his phrasing "humans and other animals" which is both accurate but less cumbersome, and one I'll try to adopt for myself.