We should be careful to not project our current norms on the entire history of humanity.
A quote from A Distant Mirror The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara Tuchman:
In village games, players with hands tied behind them competed to kill a cat nailed to a post by battering it to death with their heads, at the risk of cheeks ripped open or eyes scratched out by the frantic animal’s claws. Trumpets enhanced the excitement. Or a pig enclosed in a wide pen was chased by men with clubs to the laughter of spectators as he ran squealing from the blows until beaten lifeless
and another one:
The citizens of Mons bought a condemned criminal from a neighboring town so that they should have the pleasure of seeing him quartered.
The group of people trying to head-butt the chicken to death are playing a sport. Often enough to at some time add trumpets to it.
* head-butt the chicken please re-read the quote, it doesn't mention chickens.
* When the entertainment committee invests in quartering of a human being, it reflects the norms and attitudes of the general population.
If you are interested in the topic, "THE WANING OF THE MIDDLE AGES" is open source and text is available here https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Waning_of_the_Middle_Ages