Cruelty toward animals is not some random act. It does reflect some masochistic tendencies. But the people who do this sort of thing to animals would do the same things to human beings. However, the only thing stopping them is law and order. It’s not that there aren’t laws against animal cruelty. Acts like the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 and the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 in the Indian constitution prohibit violence toward animals.