Animal Law

Dara Lovitz's presentation of Animal Law was really eye opening. I did not really know anything about animal law, or to whom it applies. While it is great that there is Prop 2, animal cruelty, anti-dog fighting, and malpractice laws, there are so many loop holes that do not really help the animals that truly need the most help.
Some positives of the animal laws which Ms. Lovitz presented were that at least some animals are beginning to receive protection. Also, it shows that people are starting to show interest into animal rights. These animal welfare, rights, or lobbyists are doing something right, and are able to somehow receive more money to educate the public on animal issues.
However, none of these laws fully protect any animal. As Lovitz stated, the big industries can get the law "off their farm." At the base of it all, if people continue to eat animals and meat daily, there will ALWAYS be animal cruelty, which opens up a larger issue. Are animals our equals, or equal to infants at least, in which they should not be eaten at all? Or are they here for our use, and is it better for humans to eat meat then it is for animals to live freely? I know that I cannot even decide on this question, and I often go back and forth. In the rare case that a large majority of the world's popular agreed that animals are equals and should not be eaten, could America ever pass a law to protect their right to live? Or would that be infringing on rights of man?
I do have a few remaining questions. How do people who look at animals as equals, friends, helpers on farms, and as food, in places like third world country, feel about animals rights? Also, has Dara Lovitz defended animals in a trial setting? If so, what was the case?