I have, inspired by the text of the spell, envisioned it as a way to render a dead animal down into useful products in just a few seconds. However, it is PeAn (req. Rego) 40 (base 30, +1 eye, +1 destruction of selected detritus, +0 for requisite with cosmetic effects) -- and the Core Rules page 119 PeAn guidelines have the only 'Kill an animal' as a level 30 guide.
This leads me to imagine a noble hunting party (with one of the local mages along as a requirement -- the covenant needs to negotiate something from the local baron) out for the day. In anticipation of the great sport of facing a fierce Boar, the Baron has placed his group directly in the path where the beast must come, flushed by his wardens. The dogs, out front, whine nervously -- and a few of the younger members of the Baron's household grasp their spears with apprehension. The Baron is relishing a chance to face the Beast, and prove his courage while enduring the bloody-tusked wrath of the savage animal. Finally, the quarry breaks cover. Maddened by a half dozen arrows sticking ineffectually from its' thick hide, the Boar sights the group. Blood and murder firmly in its' frenzied mind, it charges -- the dogs are casually cast aside with mournful yelps of mortal pain, and the Baron braces himself to receive the massive beast on his well-planted spear. Hope and fear wash over the party -- the thick spear, seemingly so solid but moments before, now seems a flimsy defense indeed against the shattering wrath of the primal fury before them. Bare paces separate the party from final, bloody, conflict; the Baron laughs at the chance for glory... and the Boar, mid-air, becomes a pile of sausages and a couple hams.
Bored, the mage asks 'Can we go back now? That should be enough to feed us, right?'
I never realized that scenario was allowable -- but with the guidelines used, it is. This makes a 'quickly butcher this carcass' spell much more powerful (and higher level) than I really want. Would a spell which explicitly only worked on a deceased animal be more PeAn 20 (req. Rego) (base 5: Destroy an animals corpse, +1 for Rego base 1: 'Manipulate items made from animal products', +1 Eye; +1 destruction of selected detritus)?