Earlier quoted context omitted.
“Cruelty” is the default state of things. It is not a behavior we lower ourselves to, it is who we are. What we must do is rise above it. > The Patrician took a sip of his beer. ‘I have told this to few people, gentlemen, and I suspect never will again, but one day when I was a young boy on holiday in Uberwald I was walking along the bank of a stream when I saw a mother otter with her cubs. A very endearing sight, I’…
Cruelty isn't common in the animal world, but it is very common in humans. Some animals play with their food, but they're not doing it because they get joy from inflicting pain, like we do. As far as "an otter eating a fish alive", that's not cruel or evil, that's survival. Weird quote, man.
Yes, people and their inventions belong to the Malign Realm and are completely different from animals and nature, which belong to the Wholesome Realm.