Creature chewing tripe by the pound, note (7)
I believe the answer is:
reptile
'creature' is the definition.
(reptile is a kind of animal)
'chewing tripe by the pound note' is the wordplay.
'chewing' indicates an anagram.
'by' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'the pound' becomes 'L' (the pound sign is based on an L).
'note' becomes 'e' (musical note).
'tripe'+'l'='tripel'
'tripel' is an anagram of 'reptil'.
'reptil'+'e'='REPTILE'
(Other definitions for reptile that I've seen before include "Turtle, for example" , "Snake or croc?" , "Cold-blooded creature" , "Unpleasant character" , "loathsome type" .)