Tbf it’s also safer to hit the animal in many cases than slam on the brakes and possibly get rear-ended or swerve into possible dangerous hazards like other cars or poles. Many driving schools actually teach that it’s often the safest option unless the animal itself is big enough to be a hazard like a deer or moose.

Doing either out of malicious intent is the problem, but then again doing just about anything out of malicious intent is a problem lol. It’s more about the intent than the action.