Having read the book more recently than watched the movie, but isn’t this very obvious?
The electric animals are reduced to a reference in the movie while they are a really important part of the novels world building and the different characters motivation for a higher status…
Having now read the article too I gotta say it’s a really weird take to say the usage of blade runner for the movie and the job deckard does is inherently better is a weird take. They are my least favourite additions from the movie actually.
The name might be easier to market but the job now being percieved as detached from the police department harms the story in my opinion.