[XorNot]

It's been studied and short answer is: no. The alternative is CO2 asphyxiation, but the process is very fast and severs the spine almost immediately.

The bigger problem is chicks getting crushed to death by other chicks during processing.

Like a lot less happens to those chicks then say, when a flock of chickens is processed.

[thisislife2]

Are these crushed chicks also processed and sold (for example, as animal / pet feed)? If not, (I am wondering) why can't you just release them in the wild - in some park or forest and let nature take care of it - it's less cruel (in my opinion) if the chick becomes food for some other wildlife.

[beAbU]

Chickens learn from their mothers how to scrounge for food when they grow up free range. Releasing 1000s of tiny yellow chicks into the wild with no mother is way more cruel than current practises I reckon.

I reckon the chicken industry also generates way more male chickens than what a park can reasonably handle. People eat lots of chickens.

[slashdev]

How on earth is that less cruel? Have you seen how birds eat each other?

[thisislife2]

Moral justification - it becomes food for someone else thereby giving them life.