I mean, it is better than letting them into the wild to possibly introduce foreign species into the ecosystem (see rabbit island, I also discovered a lizard island in Croatia while boating) or to die of starvation / hypothermia / dehydration.

I always see Facebook posts about someone finding a cage of pet rats / hamsters / guinea pigs / other animals near dumpsters or near the forest, with live animals inside, especially in winter after Christmas.

But hey, indirectly killing them is probably easier for people humans to stomach than directly sending them to their deaths?

I, myself, am sane enough to know when I can afford to have a pet, so there is a low chance to be in this situation, but if it came to it I wouldn’t be against it - but only if it was either me or the pet.