Siderea has an array of animals pretty much identical to Earth's with a few extra funky creatures here in there that I'll get into eventually. Their relationship with sapient species is a bit better than Earth's, however, though mostly similar overall. People still have meat, there are still farms and zoos, there are wildlife reserves, so on and so forth. Sidereans value animal life more than Earthlings do in general, though, likewise respecting the environment to the extent that they don't have issues with climate change (bar the Death of the Sky). Being a world where capitalism doesn't burn everything for the sake of billionaires, there's just a cultural norm to not take more than needed and to avoid overstepping boundaries, seeking to coexist with the natural world rather than relentlessly exploit it.
Sacred Animals
Something of particular note is how Siderean society treats animals that have a strong link to zodiacs. For the most part, said animals are considered sacred and it's taboo to kill or harm them in any way. It's still kosher to, for instance, shear sheep and milk cows, but using them for meat is gonna get you some horrified stares. For reference, the animals associated with each zodiac are:
- Aries: Sheep
- Taurus: Cattle
- Gemini: Sometimes associated with rabbits.
- Cancer: Crabs
- Leo: Lions
- Virgo: N/A
- Libra: Technically nothing, but the nature of their shapeshifting and the story of Librae's catasterism has caused them to become associated with butterflies and squirrels.
- Scorpio: Scorpions
- Sagittarius: Horses
- Capricorn: Goats
- Aquarius: N/A, sometimes elephants or birds but there's nothing they really connect to themselves.
- Pisces: Fish
- Ophiuchus: Snakes
- Cetus: Whales
- Arachne: Spiders
However, not all of these are made equal. For instance, Gemini aren't closely associated enough with rabbits for them to consider rabbits as being particularly sacred, but the loose connection is enough for them to be even less popular meat sources than on Earth. On the other hand, no one will really judge you for munching one when you're chilling out in the wilderness. Squirrels, though? Fucked up and rude of you unless you were like, about to die of starvation and had no other choice.
In other cases, zodiacs just outright don't find their associated animals to be so sacred as to outweigh their tastiness. Scorpios, for instance, find scorpions to be a perfect snack and aren't exactly a race that tends to be fixated on sentimental value. Because of this, other zodiacs don't find any reason to stray from deep-frying them, either. Pisces have a somewhat different situation where they care about fish and personally tend not to be carnivorous, but acknowledge that declaring all fish as sacred beings would make it really fuckin hard for other marine races to eat. Thus, sushi is perfectly legal and no one really has a problem with that. Virgos are in a similar boat, with their association with plants being important to them but not to the extent that they think everyone should just fuckin starve bc it would be mean to eat a leaf. With Aquarians, meanwhile, people will associate them with birds and the like but they personally deny such association bc those fuckers are obnoxious, always flying through you like it's nothing, fuckin rude as hell. As such, chicken nuggets are also legal.
However, sheep, cattle, crabs, lions, squirrels, horses, goats, snakes, and whales are firmly off-limits, with spiders so far only being considered particularly sacred among the few Araneans that exist. While vegetarianism is common on Siderea, there are still plenty of meat options left; Siderean cuisine just focuses on poultry, pork, venison, seafood, and insect protein over classic Earth staples like beef and delicious crab rangoon. Although, crab rangoon uses imitation crab usually, so perhaps.......?
Of note that in certain circles people care less about this kind of thing. Black markets, obviously, find nothing sacred. But isolated communities might not find issue with beef and snakeskin, and more adventurous and unorthodox places like Dschubba might experiment with taboo meats as well. Wait that didn't come out right-
Domestication
Needless to say, sacred animals are popular picks for domestication, and Siderea's priorities and many years have allowed some species considered unruly and feral on Earth to be perfectly acceptable pets on Siderea. Squirrels, for instance, are a popular choice of pet. On Earth their lil gremlin instincts haven't been bred out of them, making them extremely bad pets. On Siderea, however, they're about as popular as things like hamsters and rabbits, if not moreso, and are much better behaved. There are even domesticated lions out there, though you're pretty much only going to see them in Leo territory (more on that later) or maybe in the ownership of big shots.
Species that are considered unorthodox pets on Earth aren't so uncommon on Siderea. Snakes, for instance, aren't unheard of as pets on Earth, but considered kinda weirdo pets. On Siderea, however, they're basically as common as cats and dogs. Crabs and scorpions? Hell yeah. This extends beyond sacred animals as well: turtles, insects, frogs, and reptiles are all more common on Earth, and you can probably get fuckin... armadillos? Sure. Capybaras? Why not? Did you know you can legally own a fennec fox? You bet your bippy they have those as common enough pets on Siderea.
It's not uncommon for the concept of pets to be linked to transience and communality: while it's not uncommon for people to keep pets at home and the like, a stray animal that frequents the neighborhood might be considered a pet by everyone living there with no one feeling pressure to harbor it or explicitly take care of it, content with its liminal state between being out in nature and being a "pet". Sidereans don't consider themselves quite outside of nature as much as humans tend to, contributing to this. It's more common for people to surround themselves with animals than it is to go to a pet store and buy one, if that makes any sense?? Like a Siderean would consider the birds that flock to their bird feeder to be like pets, and if they do bring something inside it's probably a stray little friend they found outside.
Connection
Back to sacred animals, the connection they hold to their respective zodiacs is more than mere aesthetic symbolism. Sidereans tend to feel something of a spiritual connection to their respective animals, to the extent of seeming capable of understanding them. Sagittarians, for instance, could be considered literal horse whisperers, able to understand the feelings and needs of horses in a way that even an expert horse trainer couldn't manage. While it's not quite literally speaking to animals, it's Basically that minus a sheep being able to literally say "yo what up?" to a sheeple. As such, it's common for farmers and vets to specialize in working with their associated animal, able to help them best without any extra training.
It's not impossible for Sidereans to forge a similar sort of connection to animals that aren't tied to their zodiac, or even any zodiac at all. This sort of animal communication is a common ability among earth signs, especially Tauruses and Virgos, but can in theory be learned by anyone with enough dedication. It's much easier in these cases to come to understand a pet or otherwise an animal one comes into contact with regularly. Similarly, animals that are of a closely-related species are easier for one to understand; a Sagittarius would have an easier time connecting with a donkey than a tiger, with the reverse applying for Leos.
In the cases of much larger and bestial animals like lions and whales, connection comes more into play in the deterring of violence or seeking of protection. The most popular example is that historically Leos in biomes where lions live have shared territory with them, building settlements nearby lion settlements. Because of the connections Leos and lions have with one another, the lions don't have the instinct to murder everyone and instead roam the streets now and then, receiving many treats in exchange for scritches. The main benefit, however, is that having lions surround your settlement means you've got free defenses against ruder animals, monsters, and other potential invaders. Cetans, meanwhile, usually train whales to sing out should they see threats anywhere or to simply serve as deterrents on their own by being fuckin huge.
With all these facts combined, needless to say animal cruelty is far less common on Siderea than other planets and the consequences tend to be direr. Likewise, when it comes to killing animals for food and materials you're not going to find commercialized slaughterhouses. Everything is much smaller-scale and local in nature, with priority being placed on livestock having long and comfortable lives and their deaths being as painless and compassionate as possible. Thus, while many Sidereans still eat meat, it's not quite as universal as it is on Earth and considered more of a luxury, with standard costs for meats being higher to reflect this. This has led to imitation meats becoming increasingly common and advanced in their... meat imitation... with actual meat increasingly relegated to the realm of fine dining.
Faunality
Somewhat related to the whole animal thing is that some Sidereans are even furrier trashes than usual to the extent of being straight up anthros. This is most common among the mammalian species created by the Great Fade, namely: Ariens, Tauruses, Leos, Sagittarians, and Capricorns. Any animal-based zodiac can experience Furry, though. Sidereans born with this trait are known as Faunal Zodiacs, or just faunals for short. Faunals aren't particularly common but aren't so rare that you're unlikely to ever meet one. I guess they're probably about as common as... redheads, maybe..........?
Faunals differ from other Sidereans in more than just appearance. They typically have enhanced senses and physical capabilities to match whatever animal they're based on and their ability to connect with animals - especially their associated animal - is greatly increased. As such they're typically held in high esteem, especially seeing that one of the most famous gods - Leonis - is a faunal. Of course, being noticeably unique can bring consequences to faunals, like being burdened with higher expectations and losing their goddamn minds bc people won't stop fuckin petting them without even asking, much like how people are fuckin weirdos who think it's okay to just randomly touch black hair or pregnant stomachs. Like bro what is your problem... do you know about manners........
At various points throughout history and even in scattered communities here and there the attention is negative instead, with faunals being viewed as baser creatures or being feared due to rumors that they're prone to going feral. Other times they'll be technically viewed positively but insist that faunals are animals granted humanity rather than simply normal zodiacs who just happened to have the furry gene, which can obviously be damaging to one's self worth and annoying to deal with when someone insists your family can't possibly be your biological family. None of these views are altogether common, especially in modern day Siderea, but it's still something worth noting.
Sidereans being the way they are, finding the body to be a playground for the mind, any given person can become a faunal should they seek out the proper spells and/or experts. Likewise, if the burdens of being a faunal become too much, there are ways for a faunal to un-furry themselves. Among Libras there's even a little subculture of becoming a squirrel furry (or at least making vessels with fluffy tails and ears) just to feel included!
Unique Animals
Siderea has unique Siderean animals in that they've got, like, some monsters here and there, but I feel like that's kind of a post for another day and they're not necessarily considered animals. The gist of Siderea's specific creatures is that they're born of the excess energy inherent to the planet. Being created by just literal fuckin God and friends has left Siderea absolutely loaded with anima mundi, prima materia, and viriditas, even billions of years later. This means that much like zodiacs themselves, animals can end up as Starlikes/Fadelikes/Glowlikes or corrupted by liminal parasites and excess stores of energy, which leads to them mutating into different sorts of creatures.
I need to get into... Godlikes.......??? in a post of their own, but Godlike(???) animals benefit from the excess whichever energy in their soul more than a standard zodiac does. While zodiacs basically just get more magical power, for animals they suddenly have Any magical power at all on top of higher brainpower and the potential to reach sapience. They are highly-desired pets especially among mages, with mages often claiming them as something akin to a familiar. Familiars can help enhance one's magical power with their own, receiving petpets, treats, and general care in return.
However, sometimes an animal's comparatively weaker soul renders them unable to handle their own power, leading to corruption. Corruption and liminal parasites are the origins of monsters, which are nothing more than creatures that have been created as a consequence of Siderea's excessive magical energy. For instance, if you ever see a dragon it's not going to be a common sight and it almost certainly came from a humble lizard either being born with too much power or being infested by liminal beings. Liminal parasites in particular can create some... interesting creatures due to the fact that they can infest multiple hosts before reaching a point of (relative) stability. For instance, a liminal parasite could first hijack a bug, then infest a bird, then infest a deer to create some kind of horribly freaky eldritch forest entity with wings and too many legs and oh god
Monsters and general corrupted animals can be stabilized/tamed, though, and are even more desired by mages. The benefit of being a familiar is increased for both parties: the mage gets significantly more energy to siphon and the familiar becomes stabilized by its overwhelming energy stores being depleted.
Animals and monsters of exceptional power can end up developing outright sapience and the means to communicate with others, be it telepathically or verbally. At this point they may end up changing their forms to match that of a zodiac, at which point they can participate in normal society without really being questioned. Needless to say this isn't incredibly common, but it's certainly happened before! Zodiacs who come to be in this way almost always end up becoming faunals, hence the occasional misconception that all faunals were once normal animals. Most animals/monsters with this capability don't bother, though, or end up going back to their previous form after trying out humanity for a while. Like, who would want to participate in society over being a glowy kitty with wings and a unicorn horn and no obligations that everyone thinks is cute and keeps giving cheese snacks to??? Only weirdos, that's who.
Even more unique species can technically also be created by shapeshifting animals into other things or using magic to combine animals, but needless to say this is considered extremely unethical and is extremely illegal as a result. Such a thing would only ever be plausibly acceptable if the animal was a familiar with so much power as to be sapient and capable of communication, but at that point it could probably just shapeshift on its own if it truly desired.