I don't know what the metric is, but chickens wouldn't exist without us eating them. So from a species standpoint they need us to keep eating them. From a humane standpoint it's probably cruel to keep the species alive.

[–] chetradley@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago

Agreed. The chicken's closest natural ancestor, the red jungle fowl, would continue to live in the wild. Unlike modern chickens, they only lay around once a month (as opposed to upwards of once a day), and they aren't bred to be excessively large to the point that many can't even walk properly. It would definitely be more humane to let these human made species go extinct.