Okay, so the idea is to let us load cannons with pigs, snakes and chickens. All wildlife has a mild heat seeking ability and upon firing you could press a button to get a first person perspective from the animals viewpoint as it flies.
You can only load 1 chicken or 1 pig but as many snakes as you like.
A chicken hit is an instakill... those beaks are sharp. Release pigs onto a ship either by cannon or sneaking one on board and it will head to the food stores and start to munch. Rain snakes down on an enemy and their deck becomes a writhing nightmare.
No animal would perish during flight unless skilfully shot out the air by the defenders. If you hit the sails the animals would fall back to the deck so a hit is a bit easier. Those chickens also would fly further and straighter than a cannonball. They're more aerodynamic and use their wings to glide.
It's a good idea to always have animal crates on board to catch the criters