[Anagogy]

I think that animals have souls/consciousness/minds, but they only have temporary individuation for the span of their physically incarnate states. The reason for this being that, in most animals, the only chakras in activation (to any great degree) are generally the first two. Their consciousness is of the struggle for survival and the struggle towards directed purposeful growth (genetic reproduction/evolution). Consciousness does not become individuated in a long term way till the 3rd yellow chakra becomes "seated" in activation rather than potentiation. This eventually does happen to animals after enough experience is gained and the energy is refined over aeons of recycling through the automatic incarnation cycle. After death, the energy of animals merges into a collective consciousness of...um...animalness...for lack of better word. There is a general division between land, air, and sea creatures' consciousness. Though, in the spirit world, distance is only measured in difference in consciousness, if you get my drift.

For reference on this subject, some books I found to be of illumination are: Journey of Souls, Destiny of Souls (Michael Newton), Law of One: I-V.(Carla Rueckert, Don Elkins, Jim McCarty), Between Death and Life (Dalores Cannon), The Holotropic Mind (Stanislav Grof).