In the interest of preventing an Edit War, I started a discussion here. Yes, Spock still thinks he's dealing with an animal here (albeit a very rare animal), but he's still willing to tell the Red Shirts to capture the Horta rather than kill it, which would risk their lives given how deadly it is. As soon as he knows his best friend is alone in a cave with it, he urges him to kill it immediately and then barrels into the room intending to shoot it himself. That's why I considered this Hypocritical Humor. I will withdraw the comment if you show me I'm wrong.
In the interest of preventing an Edit War, I started a discussion here. Yes, Spock still thinks he's dealing with an animal here (albeit a very rare animal), but he's still willing to tell the Red Shirts to capture the Horta rather than kill it, which would risk their lives given how deadly it is. As soon as he knows his best friend is alone in a cave with it, he urges him to kill it immediately and then barrels into the room intending to shoot it himself. That's why I considered this Hypocritical Humor. I will withdraw the comment if you show me I'm wrong.