I think you don’t know that Lions also don’t always kill before eating. Although it’s not exactly right, I saw Lionesses (Not Lions, but more or less the same right ?) eating a Buffalos genital while her companions hold the poor guy down.
And it’s not exactly about killing, it’s always about eating. When the prey is a threat, the first thing they do is neutralize the threat, which could be killing or just putting it down wounded.
A good reason for Hyenas and Wild dogs is, they don’t have enough power to kill the big Animals like Cows or Buffalos although sometimes that’s not the case, sometimes they can kill a Antelope but as I said it’s not about killing. When the threat is neutralized, it’s time to eat. And the most logical thing to do while eating is to look for the softest part and start from there.
That’s why they usually start from behind, between rear legs where the abdominal entry is, unprotected by rib cage or bones. Prey usually dies when the blood loss is fatal or they reach vital organs from behind. Pain must have been unimaginable at first, but with blood loss they tend to get hazy.
It’s not cruel, it’s not kind, it’s just the wild way of living. What Hyenas like to do doesn’t have anything with living or the dead, they, just like any other animal on the planet, like to eat when hungry.
Oh I just found a video where Lions are not being decent.
You shouldn’t apply human ideologies on wild animals, because that is the most cruel thing to do on Animals.