Argentina court recognizes two goldfish as sentient beings with rights

You can certainly make a better case for the sentience of fish than for an abstract legal fiction like a corporation.

Why wouldn’t this apply to every animal then? Shouldn’t the courts order all the cow farms in Argentina to shut down?

Well someone has to sue first no? The courts don’t go out telling people what to do. They react to claims.

Certainly for vertebrates - hence animal cruelty & humane slaughter laws, etc.

Recognition of invertebrate sentience, particularly crustaceans and molluscs, is increasingly accepted, but not yet reflected in their legal status in many countries (only since 2022 in the UK, which is usually one of the most animal-friendly nations, for example)

IIUC they have rights, but not as many rights as a person.

so are cops going to be following people who buy every beta fish ever out of the parking lot to write a ticket?

Why not dolphins ? Or mice ?