Should it be a crime to treat your fellow man like an animal, seeing as he is one?

or put another way, does man's intellect give him the right to treat other species of animals in ways he would certainly not wish to be treated? i'll bet anyone who has ever been a prisoner or worse could speak rather eloquently on this subject. or is it that our intellect gives us evolutionary advantage over all others and we are simply behaving according to genetic program?...