Before answering, I should point out that this is not a view shared by all animal-rights activists. For example, some activists believe that only humans are created in God’s image.
I personally consider other animals our equals in certain respects, and would like to explain why.
We often say that all human beings are created equal, and I fully agree. But we should ask what “all people are created equal” means. Do we mean that everyone has the same intelligence, creativity and physical abilities? If so, we have a problem, because people are not equal in those respects. For example, a person with a severe intellectual disability may have a lower level of intelligence than you or me.
Still, I believe it is right to say that all people are equal in the sense that every human being deserves the same compassion and ethical consideration, regardless of inequalities in other areas. If we extend this kind of “equality” to people with severe intellectual disabilities, we should extend it to other species too. Animals killed for food, clothing and experiments have much greater intelligence and social-interaction abilities than many people with severe intellectual disabilities, whom we rightly recognise as our equals.
Most importantly, other animals feel pain and suffering as we do, and value their lives as we value ours.
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