Animal Caretakers

Feed, water, groom, bathe, exercise, or otherwise provide care to promote and maintain the well-being of pets and other animals that are not raised for consumption, such as dogs, cats, race horses, ornamental fish or birds, zoo animals, and mice. Work in settings such as kennels, animal shelters, zoos, circuses, and aquariums. May keep records of feedings, treatments, and animals received or discharged. May clean, disinfect, and repair cages, pens, or fish tanks.

The occupation "Animal Caretakers" has an automation risk of 38.3%, with a base risk slightly higher at 38.6%. This indicates that while certain aspects of the role are susceptible to automation, a significant portion of the work remains challenging for machines to replicate. The moderate risk level stems from the blend of routine physical tasks and responsibilities requiring judgment, empathy, and adaptability. As automation technologies improve, jobs combining repetitive duties with nuanced human skills tend to face partial, rather than complete, automation. Therefore, animal caretaking involves roles both suitable and unsuitable for automation, contributing to its medium risk assessment. Among the most automatable tasks in this role are those following clear, predictable procedures. Firstly, "Feed and water animals according to schedules and feeding instructions" is highly susceptible to automation since these functions are routine and can be managed by programmed devices. Similarly, "Provide treatment to sick or injured animals, or contact veterinarians to secure treatment" could be partially automated through monitoring systems that alert caretakers or veterinarians when intervention is required. Lastly, "Examine and observe animals to detect signs of illness, disease, or injury" is becoming more automatable with advances in sensors and AI-based visual analysis, which can provide preliminary health checks and flag abnormalities for human review. Conversely, the tasks most resistant to automation typically involve elements of judgment, creativity, or complex manual work. For instance, "Sell pet food and supplies" demands customer service skills and persuasion, areas where human interaction remains essential. "Order, unload, and store feed and supplies" also resists automation due to the challenges in handling varied and unpredictable items in less structured environments. "Train animals to perform certain tasks" is particularly resistant, as it requires understanding animal behavior, adapting training methods, and demonstrating patience—skills that AI and robotics cannot yet emulate effectively. The primary bottleneck skills for automating this job are originality, measured at very low levels (2.0% and 1.9%), emphasizing that the creative and adaptive elements of animal care are especially difficult for machines to replicate.