The gull parent feeds its chick when pecked on the bill. The baby gets fed. The interaction need have no emotional content. At the same time, there is no reason why such actions cannot have emotional content. Yet this does not mean that feeding a new baby is exclusively reflex and expresses no feelings like love.
Humans have feelings about their behavior even if it is conditioned or reflexive.
Yet since reflexes exist, and conditioned behavior is widespread, measurable, and observable, most scientists try to explain animal behavior using only these concepts. It is simpler. Those who argue against speaking of emotion and consciousness in animals often appeal to the principle of parsimony, or Ockham's razor. This principle holds that one should choose the simplest explanation for a phenomenon. This rule of giving credence to only the lowest or simplest explanation for behavior is not unassailable.