I have a snake, who must eat rodents to live. I came to terms with that before I got the snake. Its not pretty, but its life (and death). No one wants to see where the steak they're eating came from and how it got to their table lest if ruin their enjoyment of it. Its stupid that people get joys out of this sort of thing - watching a feeding frenzy involving a mammalian victim - but it just goes to show that most of us in this world are easily amused by such grotesque activities. The cycle of life goes on, we all must eat and recognize our place in the food chain. The act of a fish eating a rat isn't. The fact that some morons exploited it is wrong. Just my opinion....
And yes, death by asphyxiation is pretty crappy. Personally, I would take that over being torn to bits anyday.