I don't think people care more about animals than about people. It was a cruel way to kill an animal, that's what's riling people up. If you baited a person and shot them with a bow and arrow, and then hired hunters to track them down and kill them, people would be much more outraged.
You can't easily compare "unprovoked cruelty against animals" with "everyday life below the poverty line".
If that exact story had happened to a person, it wouldn't be on the news in the West. I don't think people care more about animals more than humans, but I think it's very hard for humans to truly care all that much about humans half-way across the globe.
You can't easily compare "unprovoked cruelty against animals" with "everyday life below the poverty line".