The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Animalize \An"i*mal*ize\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Animalized; p.
   pr. & vb. n. Animalizing.] [Cf. F. animaliser.]
   1. To endow with the properties of an animal; to represent in
      animal form. --Warburton.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To convert into animal matter by the processes of
      assimilation.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. To render animal or sentient; to reduce to the state of a
      lower animal; to sensualize.
      [1913 Webster]

            The unconscious irony of the Epicurean poet on the
            animalizing tendency of his own philosophy.
                                                  --Coleridge.
      [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

animalize
    v 1: represent in the form of an animal [syn: animalize,
         animalise]
    2: make brutal, unfeeling, or inhuman; "Life in the camps had
       brutalized him" [syn: brutalize, brutalise, animalize,
       animalise]
    3: become brutal or insensitive and unfeeling [syn: brutalize,
       brutalise, animalize, animalise]