NationStates

The fact that Decepticons are superior to other lifeforms, and that all other lifeforms should serve us, is a bedrock principle of our society. It is seen as patently ridiculous to even suggest otherwise, and not only that, making the suggestion is Treason Against the Decepticon People and punished with death. On top of that, it is seen as destiny for us to one day control the entire universe.

Needless to say, slavery is legal. Other lifeforms are lesser species, and naturally belong to us. Even inferior Decepticons, discovered by them being idiotic enough to install software into their minds without running a proper antivirus check on it first (and thereby getting themselves hacked), are eligible for enslavement. The latter practice is greatly frowned upon, and those who do it can be targets of lethal vigilante action, but it is legal just the same.

By the above, you would think we'd be a strictly Tier 9 society, but this is probably the most Tier 9ish aspect of it. Even then, as you will see, the "corruption" of our society isn't based on slavery per se, but on a wider philosophy that, in a nutshell, says that inferiors are fair game for whatever we throw at 'em. Slavery just isn't what we usually do throw at 'em, as you will see below.

Despite this, most Decepticons do NOT gain their social status by how many slaves they own. In fact, most Decepticons own ZERO slaves. Status is determined by skill at raiding - of the pirate variety - and most prefer to raid other planets for oil and other inanimate resources instead of livestock. Oil doesn't go stale, doesn't require special life-supporting spacecraft, needs no food or water, and doesn't try to get away. That makes it much easier to deal with as well as more profitable. Very few gangs actually raid for slaves, and when they do, it is because the government is specifically incentivizing this as a form of aggression against a specific enemy. (By this, we'd be more of a Tier 7, despite the likely-lethal response to the suggestion of actually freeing our lessers.)

Tier 8 only applies because, in terms of raw numbers, we do have many head of livestock under our dominion. However, ownership of these vast masses is concentrated into the hands of very few. Instead of random Decepticons each owning a slave or two, industrialists own millions (or more) per company. It is quite rare for any Decepticon to have a "personal slave."

Tier 9 kicks back in when you consider the mining system. This industry uses slave labor almost exclusively, and among mine owners, it is indeed a form of status to own a lot of livestock. This is because a mine with a lot of slaves produces a lot of ore due to the abundance of laborers, which in turn results in more profits and wealth for its owner.

That said, while our livestock is subject to genetic engineering, it doesn't have to put up with forced breeding. Livestock for ongoing needs are generated at the Cloning Centers, where we can strictly control the DNA content of each individual. Natural breeding is far too random, and almost all slaves we have that resulted from that process are captives from war actions. We do not in any way encourage, let alone force, the production of no-quality-control, randomly generated livestock.

We also don't "sacrifice" humans (or other livestock), though we certainly will control their numbers to keep them in check if need be. However, this is only a problem for them in the early years of taking over a planet. After the original population ages out, it is replaced by sterile clones according to our projections of labor needs. This eliminates unwanted population booms without the need for further mass-deactivations.

Torture, at least the kind done for the sake of it, is also rare. Damaged slaves do not work nearly as efficiently as healthy ones. However, if we find a slacker or malcontent, we will administer corporal punishment to speed him up.

Still, it is legal for an owner to do anything he wants with his property, biological or otherwise. He just won't stay in business for long if he causes his livestock to be unable to work.