I don't know, I pick up a wounded duck, I ring its neck. Is that any less cruel? I often pull the heads off doves that are still floppin'.
Guys I've dog hunted with don't like guns, dangerous to the dogs. They use a knife to eliminate all possibility of shooting a dog. I've always carried a handgun anyway, just in case, but was told not to use it unless it was a life preserving reason. We always cut the throat/carotid, to let 'em bleed out, kills pretty quick, really, and a Rapala or Fiskars fillet knife was usually the tool, not really a macho fighting knife or anything. The dogs have it by the ears, you just walk up and cut it. It ain't pretty if you have a weak stomach and are used to watching game fall and maybe kick once or twice to your 300 mag, but it's real life in the wild. Killin' ain't that pretty, but it's natural for a predator.
Now, that little hog wasn't a big deal. You should see what goes on when the pack corners a 350 lb bruiser! That's when I want my .45 for back up.
I've seen one hog stabbed, didn't do the stabbing, that went over 300. Lord, I stood back with the .45 at ready for that one. Weren't takin' any chances. But, I didn't have to shoot, dogs held the thing. Hunting at night makes things even scarier when you walk up on a bruiser like that.
It's an adrenalin rush, but guys have gotten hurt and dogs have been killed. It's a rough way to put pork on the table sometimes. The guy I hunted with actually had a pet lion. He hunted huge farms around the area for farmers and fed his lion with his kills. City made him get rid of the lion, though. I don't know if he's still hunting, but probably. Lots of guys around here sell the hogs for cheap, even advertise 'em for sale. I don't know how legal that is, but it isn't a violation of game law. I knew a guy out at work that hunted with dogs and I used to buy a small hog off him quartered once in a while, 20 bucks. They were always killed the night before and on ice.
I suppose a lot of folks wouldn't have the stomach for hunting hogs with dogs, but it is a rush. You're killing an animal. I'm not sure why the method of death makes any difference. I see guys shoot deer all the time on TV with a friggin' stick and a string and the deer runs off, lays down, and slowly bleeds to death. Is that any more "humane"? If you criticize hunting with a knife, you're walking down a slippery slope, seems to me, especially if you enjoy bow hunting. JMHO of course. Hell, the PETA freaks think FISHING is cruel! Before long, pulling onions out of your garden will be cruel.