Animals as Property?: A Response to Jake

Jake asks: Does calling animals property propogate the propensity to abuse animals?

I made the point once in class, as Jake does in his post, that calling animals property gives humans the idea that they can do whatever they want with said animals. The idea that an animal is property may mean to some that the animal needs to be taken care of, based solely on the idea that, "This is mine." Most people take care of the things they own, but what about people with short tempers? They can kick or kill an animal and use the claim that, "It's my property." Any sane person would know that this is wrong, and this sentiment does not hold up well in court. Calling animals property would, I feel, hurt animals more than it helps them. It devalues them more so than they already are by some.

My question now is: How do we fix this devaluation of animals? What can be done about it?