Dolphins = 'Non-Human Persons'?!?

This torturing of the English language is getting almost comical. I know that dolphins are smart, watch them blowing bubbles. I have even had the experience of swimming with a few. Still, 'non-human persons'?

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/article6973994.ece

"Dolphins have been declared the world’s second most intelligent creatures after humans, with scientists suggesting they are so bright that they should be treated as “non-human persons”."