Biggest immediate difference between us and other animals would be mental capacity coupled with physical ability - that's why we're so advanced. However, while I don't exactly know for certain that animals don't possess these qualities, philosophy, empathy and morality are wonderous things I've never seen a cat or dolphin display signs of.
Is it right to use animals as tools? No, not unless you rephrase that to sound nicer. A little bit of empathy should be enough to see that humans, on the whole, are completely ruthless when it comes to treating other living things, although this isn't confined to creatures not of the human race.
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