Yes, but whatever the Gridanians do, they run by the elementals first (through the Hearers of the CNJ's Guild) - the first CNJ's class quest E-Sumi Yan actually states this that through no fault of their own the animals he orders you to terminate have been driven to desperation and are upsetting the balance of the forest, hence the elementals deemed it necessary to eliminate them. Time and again whenever a Gridanian npc orders the slaying of some wild animal they explicitly state that they do so with no relish or enjoyment, but simply because it's necessary for the forest's sake. The whole 'nature is cruel' idea taken to extremes.