are whales, dolphins, porpoises, elephants people?

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If whales were all that intelligent, they would warn each other about whaling ships and stay away from them.

Bananas are people. Cucumbers aren't intelligent enough to be considered human, but they still have intrinsic value.

All life has intrinsic value.

Sometimes the intrinsic value of a living organism is outweighed by the instrumental value of that organism once it is dead. For example, carrots.

Sometimes the intrinsic value of an organism is outweighed by the intrinsic value of another organism, meaning that one is chosen over the other. An example is a virus (leaving aside whether they are actually alive) or bacterial colony that has infected a human and is causing disease. Another example is a foetus that could ruin the life of the mother if it is born. Another example is a rabid dog that threatens to infect another dog.

I think many great apes, cetaceans, and perhaps other animals value their continued existence and lack of pain as much as humans do. As a result, we should value them equally with humans.

From http://articles.latimes.com/1989-08-22/news/mn-912_1_whale-attacks:

the difference between humans and animals is that animals are not burdened by duty.

That's why it would be a mistake to lump them together.

I think it's absurd to consider animals as people. Legally and morally, human society should not afford animals the same rights it does to its own members. Many of what we consider human rights don't even apply to animals. But that doesn't mean we can go light a cow on fire for the heck of it. A creature does not need to be a "person" to be deserving of respect and moral consideration. When it comes to things like animal abuse and farm practices, we shouldn't be asking ourselves whether animals are people, or even how smart they are. All that matters is whether or not they feel pain.

I think some humans should have their person status revoked.