Animals are conscious and should be treated as such

[Diana]

The declaration concludes that "non-human animals have the neuroanatomical, neurochemical, and neurophysiological substrates of conscious states along with the capacity to exhibit intentional behaviors. Consequently, the weight of evidence indicates that humans are not unique in possessing the neurological substrates that generate consciousness. Non-human animals, including all mammals and birds, and many other creatures, including octopuses, also possess these neurological substrates."

What are "nuerological substrates"? Is that akin to saying that we share the same motherboard with animals but we have different software running on our own?

"Different" perhaps as in more complex, more sophisticated, more self-aware, more rational, more reflective, etc.

I didn't write the article, Marc Beckoff did. I assume by substrates you are correct in your assumption; and means the rudimentary building blocks are the same.