Prison systems around the world, and particularly those in America, routinely strip people of everything they earn and put them in dark holes for significantly less. The people doing these things know what they are doing and continue to do it without working to correct the issues. Torturing animals in a regulated test setting is well beyond carrying some weed or the mistake of being black and in the wrong place.
I'm all for rehabilitation, but how do you rehabilitate people who have decided torturing animals for extended periods of time is okay?