Same with foxes. They will eat half a lamb as it is being born and tear at the laboring ewe, but if English people try to hunt them in order to defend their flocks, they are considered cruel to animals.
I have a cousin in Pontrhydygroes, Wales who has problems with foxes attacking his sheep. He's not allowed to do anything about it. He has to call the local "ranger" who is permitted access to a firearm to dispatch the foxes. A good 12 ga shotgun or Ruger Mini-14 with some varmint loads is really al he needs to control the problem. Too bad those even guns aren't allowed to ordinary "subjects".