Yes, it is cruelty to tie up the goat and stick it in the trunk, which is why it was crying out. There are rules about hunting, and rules about how to sacrifice animals for meat etc. so that it is done humanely. Those rules are there for a reason. That goat is much closer to us in intelligence and its place in the universe than we are in comparison to God, but God doesn’t treat us cruelly. If I saw them do this, three of them wouldn’t be enough to stop me from making them wish they had bought a box of pop tarts instead of being thoughtless cruel a**holes.
I agree with your comments. Since before recorded history humans have been aware of the dilemma about having to kill for food. Countless forms of ritual slaughter and the drawings at Lascaux cave attest to spiritual beings who treated their quarry with respect. I have no sympathy for those who are cruel to animals, even if they are only meant to be eaten.