The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word PICADOR
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
P
I
C
A
D
O
R
More clues leading to the result PICADOR
- Person goading Republican after image trouble
- Bull-baiter told to choose a way in
- Detective on estate arresting party who’s cruel to animals
- Sanctimonious bounder or ring fighter
- Animal killer — sanctimonious or rogue? — somewhere in between
- Choose how to make one’s entrance, we hear, as fighter in ring
- The Monty Hall problem reportedly requires you to do this for a fighter
- Man on horseback who investigates rogue soldiers
- In epic, adored bullfighter
- Publishing company with marketing men supporting single out on the radio
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "who’s cruel to animals" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case who’s cruel to animals = picador.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does PICADOR mean?
PICADOR noun- A lancer mounted on horseback who assists a matador.