You don't have to be book smart or have a college degree to understand that animals feel pain just like we do.
There’s a difference between using animals for our entertainment that does not involve being cruel to animals, however often times when we use animals for our entertainment such as in circuses they are often beaten, provoked, in cramped quarters and also dog, cat, chicken, ect fighting is forms of animal cruelty.
When animals are rescued from their abusers or taken to a rescue group or sanctuary we entrust them to properly care for them which includes the cleanliness, receiving proper exercise, medical treatment, but when they don't get that, that is animal cruelty.
People who engage in animal cruelty should face harsher penalties, not a slap on the wrist.