Provocation or not, I'm afraid I have to take Lucius's and the Ministries side with Buckbeak. (Though I do agree that execution was too extreme. Firing Hagrid or making him pay a fine would be better) When I did volunteer training at my state's zoo, the staff were not allowed to let us near the more dangerous animals. Tigers, wolves, bears, and moose are just as bad tempered and violent as Buckbeak. So I have some minor experience in Zoology. We started by looking after the farm animals (the zoo has a farm animal section) and the smaller and gentler animals, such as small reptiles and rodents. You need years of training and experience to look after more dangerous animals. And Buckbeak should have been saved for older students with more experience.
So, what do you think would be the wizard equivalent of farm animals, and small rodents and reptiles?