I think we should care for animals and humans at the same time, rather than drawing a separation line as if it is two different issues. Back in history people killed other people over their animals because it was a matter of life and death.
I personally feel now its gone the other direction, since most of us are removed from nature and live in the cities. We now don't know the history of the animal in the dinner plate, so it's ok to waste it....
My grandmother, RIP, used to name the little cute goats after us. We loved them, pet them, entertained them and later on we ate them.
Many years ago I recall a bunch of kids in our own basement throwing stones at a little kitten. I find these scenarios unnecessary and cruel. Whether you're going to eat that animal or not, it still deserves a happy life while alive and deserves a fast and pain free death if its raised for dinner.
Cruelty to animals exists in that sense. There is also a tendency for total disregard for wild life. Take plastics in the ocean as a fresh example, pollution in rivers in the third world, also the consequences to nature of prawn farming, cow farming, etc...We just have to find alternative solutions if our kids are to live a peaceful life, and raising concerns for animals, plants and nature in general is part of that battle.