Animal breeder

Animal breeders have existed all throughout history, up until now. Different animals have served people as carriers, food producers, companions, and many others. That has of course lead to people wanting more animals, and selectively breeding individuals with the qualities they're after. This long tradition has now been brought to an end for one simple reason. Resources. As with many things in the falling city, having animals is a constant evaluation of how useful they can be vs how many resources they need to fulfill that usefulness. For a lot of animals, that evaluation now gives the unfortunate but clear answer that they're not worth it. To keep a check on the number of animals in the falling city being an animal breeder is illegal, with only a few people being hired directly by the city for the few species still considered worth it. One example of these is the carrier lizards, who are low maintenance enough to keep in fairly large numbers to make the messaging systems throughout the city as efficient as possible. These breeders are under strict control on the number of animals allowed to be born each season and what qualities they must have. A useless animal is wasted resources and in almost all cases is put down. In return for the strictness of the position being an animal breeder for the city is a respectable and well-paid position with little competition. Any animal breeder not employed by the city is working illegally and being caught leads to some hefty fines, the city repossessing all animals and putting them down, and in most cases also jailtime. Guards are always on the lookout for stray animals and put them down if found. Legally owned animals have to be kept in clearly marked habitats with all the proper paperwork close at hand or be at risk for being put down by the guards as illegals.