Provide posts for animals (12)

I believe the answer is:

caterpillars

'animals' is the definition.
(caterpillar is a kind of animal)

'provide posts' is the wordplay.
'provide' becomes 'cater' (catering is a kind of providing).
'posts' becomes 'pillars'.
'cater'+'pillars'='CATERPILLARS'

'for' acts as a link.

(Another definition for caterpillars that I've seen is " Moth larvae".)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.

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