Human babies aren't persons but dolphins should be?

I just don't understand what people are thinking some days.

I recently wrote about a group of ethicists who published an article arguing that babies, while human beings, should not be considered as persons but rather as potential persons. As such killing them after birth is not morally wrong.

Now comes another group of enlightened thinkers who argue that dolphins and whales should be given the title of persons and all the subsequent protections that go along with it.

Experts in philosophy, conservation and animal behaviour want support for a Declaration of Rights for Cetaceans. 

They believe dolphins and whales are sufficiently intelligent to justify the same ethical considerations as humans. 

Recognising their rights would mean an end to whaling and their captivity, or their use in entertainment. 

The move was made at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Vancouver, Canada, the world's biggest science conference. 

It is based on years of research that has shown dolphins and whales have large, complex brains and a human-like level of self-awareness. 

This has led the experts to conclude that although non-human, dolphins and whales are "people" in a philosophical sense, which has far-reaching implications.

So while human beings can be labeled as mere 'potential persons' the killing of whom should warrant no moral or legal condemnation, dolphins and whales should be labeled as persons the killing of which should warrant moral and legal condemnation.

What?!

I have nothing against dolphins or whales. I don't want to see them slaughtered or treated cruelly but they are not people. They don't warrant the same status or protections as humans because they are not humans. If we  as a society can get to the point of wanting to protect these animals, why can't we work to protect actual human beings?