the sound of small feet in the attic

BlueBelle have you ever had mice or squirrels in your home?

Bluebelle, as you say animals predating other animals is part of the natural order. Humans are animals.

But other animals kill to survive Monica whereas only humans seem to take pleasure in killing. Shouldn’t we be able to use our superior intelligence to find better ways of living, and our human gifts of compassion and empathy to treat other species more kindly?

Dogs kill sheep for 'fun', not just to survive and other animals show empathy and care.

It is not, a question of compassion or empathy, it is a question of predation. I do not disagree with what you say nor does it conflict with what I said.

It is illegal to release mice, or any other pest, on other peoples land. Grey squirrels must be "disposed of" as they are a foreign species

I’m afraid I cannot tolerate mice or any vermin in my home. They have to go. If left, they breed at an alarming rate, and your home would be quickly over run with them. They spread disease. If they remain outside, fine, but when they come indoors, action has to be taken, and is.
However, I’ll even qualify the outdoors comment because a few months ago a rat came into the garden. I didn’t hesitate to contact the council to deal with the issue. Weils disease (Leptospirosis) can be spread by infected rats along with infected mice, cows, pigs and dogs. It is spread via the urine of infected animals. Mice and rats in particular, urinate frequently and if they invade your home, then they will urinate on any surfaces there. You won’t know whether the vermin in your home have it or not, so in my opinion, it’s not worth the risk - they have to go. On top of that, of course, is the other serious damage they can cause in the home which could have fatal consequences at worst and serious, expensive to resolve, inconvenience at best.
I’m sorry, but I am in the camp of “get rid of them” if they enter my home, by whatever means necessary.