I agreed that the goal of minimizing suffering to animals is a worthy one. But am skeptical that endowing them with human rights is the solution.

You highlight the "immense harm" that we "inflict upon animals" up to and including killing them. But I think we need to take a step back.

Trillions of animals are killed every year by other (nonhuman) animals. It is practically the nature of being an animal. They are not born with any inalienable right to not be killed. If anything their birthright is the opposite. The few at the top of food chains are the exception.

Failure to acknowledge this crucial context leads us down the road to utopian thinking, and in my view utopian thinking never fails to make things worse.