Different attitudes to animals

As an animal lover, it is sometimes difficult to understand different cultures, where animals are clearly not always viewed as sentient creatures. At a market we saw live fish, crabs and water snakes as well as skinned frogs ready for the pot. We were looking at a cage of rats when the seller retrieved one which he smacked briskly on the ground and handed to a customer for some protein I presume. Our guide said that the rats were caught when the rice was harvested, similar to the UK, when grass is mown in a circle and rabbits end up in the centre of the field. I suppose they hadn't had a bad life, it just feels utilitarian to me.