I’m not morally justifying my diet. I’m just a hungry animal.

Technically, you are. You’re using a sort of naturalistic fallacy as moral justification.

The point of contention is this:

Are you justifying a need or are you justifying a desire or want?

Which begs the question: do you know your needs and do you know yourself enough to know your needs?

For carnivore animals, this is about needs.