Farming, Fishing, and Forestry · Holland code RCI

Animal Breeders

Select and breed animals according to their genealogy, characteristics, and offspring. May require knowledge of artificial insemination techniques and equipment use. May involve keeping records on heats, birth intervals, or pedigree.

Also called: Animal Technician, Artificial Insemination Technician (AI Technician), Breeder, Dog Breeder, Artificial Inseminator, Large Herd Specialist.

O*NET 45-2021.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $51,130; Middle half earn $44,320 to $62,080. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED); 86% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 2 of 5; Some preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Feed and water animals, and clean and disinfect pens, cages, yards, and hutches.
Observe animals in heat to detect approach of estrus and exercise animals to induce or hasten estrus, if necessary.
Treat minor injuries and ailments and contact veterinarians to obtain treatment for animals with serious illnesses or injuries.
Arrange for sale of animals and eggs to hospitals, research centers, pet shops, and food processing plants.
Place vaccines in drinking water, inject vaccines, or dust air with vaccine powder to protect animals from diseases.
Purchase and stock supplies of feed and medicines.
Bathe and groom animals.
Select animals to be bred, and semen specimens to be used, according to knowledge of animals, genealogies, traits, and desired offspring characteristics.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Critical Thinking3.3 / 5
Active Listening3.0 / 5
Speaking3.0 / 5
Science3.0 / 5
Active Learning3.0 / 5
Monitoring3.0 / 5

Knowledge areas

Customer and Personal Service4.2 / 5
Sales and Marketing3.9 / 5
Administration and Management3.5 / 5
Biology3.3 / 5
Mathematics3.2 / 5
Administrative3.1 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic89
Investigative40
Artistic8
Social23
Enterprising17
Conventional43

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

animal handler · DE Tierbetreuer/Tierbetreuerin · FR soigneur d’animaux/soigneuse d’animaux
dog breeder · DE Hundezüchter/Hundezüchterin · FR éleveur de chiens/éleveuse de chiens
cattle breeder · DE Viehzüchter/Viehzüchterin · FR éleveur de bovins/éleveuse de bovins
horse breeder · DE Pferdezüchter/Pferdezüchterin · FR éleveur de chevaux/éleveuse de chevaux
pig breeder · DE Schweinezüchter/Schweinezüchterin · FR éleveur de porcs/éleveuse de porcs
sheep breeder · DE Schafzüchter/Schafzüchterin · FR éleveur d’ovins/éleveuse d’ovins

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Animal care services occupations n.e.c. (6129)102,200 employed
Farm workers (9111)40,700 employed
Farmers (5111)99,700 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers, by country
Country	Median pay
Germany	€31,000
Sweden	€30,144
Italy	€27,723
Netherlands	€26,642
Ireland	€25,686
France	€22,942
Spain	€20,465
Portugal	€9,509
Poland	€8,061

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the lower third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -1.04. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (45-2021).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

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