Hardly.
If one cannot protect an innocent animal, by serious jail time for those responsible, then we (the humans you think so highly off), are the worse of the food chain.
I don't know how to say this so that you can understand it. I think animals should be protected, but not though thier own "rights".
Once they have "rights", we will have to find ways to allow them to practice the Bill of Rights. Next, someone will want their dogs to be married. Then there will be lawyers representing animals as individuals in court. It won't stop.
Yes, humans are set above animals. That is simply the way it works.