Domesticated chickens and cattle may well be an evolutionary success story, but they are also among the most miserable creatures that ever lived.
No. Maybe on factory farms in recent centuries, but through the majority of its history, the practice of animal husbandry has generally incorporated humane treatment. In subsistence and sustainable farming, domesticated animals generally were well cared for, had their needs attended to, and were only killed if it was necessary — generally, for food. For the most part, if resources could be gathered from the animal without harming or killing them, that would be how it would be done.
