A pedestrian is one who travels on foot, ped being the Latin root for foot. But even though many people refer to chicken's feet as feet, are they actually feet scientifically speaking, such that they would qualify as being pedestrian when walking on them? What about animals with hooves, or paws?
Note: This is a question about the meaning of the English word pedestrian, specifically how (and if) it applies to non-humans.
In case of animals I think the correct terms are: biped:
- an animal with two feet.
or quadriped:
- a four-footed animal.
a pedestrian is a human being.
(from TFD)
Yes, you can use pedestrian for animals and it has nothing to do with its origin. (for the same sense as a human pedestrian). Though, you have to mention "animal" or the name of the animal along with "pedestrian", otherwise "pedestrian" itself would be understood as a human pedestrian by default.
Examples:
Keeping the Streets Safe for Animal Pedestrians
http://www.cityofrc.us/cityhall/animalcare/field/wildlife/safe_streets.asp
It seemed that in the rural highlands of Scotland, cars certainly had the right-of-way over pedestrians, and animal pedestrians at that!
The Countess of Erroll By Ed. D Edwards, S. Elizabeth Edwards
There is also the usage of pedestrian in biology to define animals that walk on foot.
These rules refer, of course, to pedestrian animals, not flying animals or climbing animals. The human animal is a pedestrian, although he is descended from arboreal primates and has some climbing ability.
The Ecological Approach To Visual Perception By James J. Gibson [2013]
Studying the locomotion of aquatic pedestrian animals will contribute to our ideas about possible constraints on a amphibious lifestyle, and the evolutionary transition between aquatic and terrestrial environments.
Issues for Aquatic Pedestrian Locomotion - Marlene M. Martinez [1996]
http://icb.oxfordjournals.org/content/36/6/619.full.pdf
Almost every definition I've found online refers to "a person" travelling on foot, or similar, for example:
dictionary.reference.com says "a person who goes or travels on foot; walker.";
Merriam-Webster says "a person who is walking in a city, along a road, etc.";
Cambridge Dictionaries Online says "a person who is walking, especially in an area where vehicles go".
An exception is Wiktionary, which says "Somebody walking rather than using a vehicle; somebody travelling on foot on or near a roadway." However, they also define "somebody" as "Some unspecified person.".
So it appears that only humans may be pedestrian. There doesn't appear to be an equivalent word for those equipped with hooves or paws - perhaps ungulaetrian and cruratrian, if one were in a silly mood.
pedestrian, specifically how (and if) it applies to non-humans.