Need some help with a text I'm reading

Hi,

I'm reading a JLPT N5 graded text (to practice reading with kanjis) and I understand all of it except for the following sentence:

ペットとしてしいくするのはかんたんです。

I don't understand the として in that sentence. I looked it up on jrgram.org and it's listed as an N2 level expression, so I guess it's quite advanced. I read the definition (indicates the capacity. role or function of someone or something), but I don't get how it fits in the sentence (I understand it as 'Breeding a pet is easy')

ペットを飼育する
Keep:/raise a pet

ペットとして飼育する
Keep/raise AS a pet

Thanks a lot for the help

Compared with, for example: 使役犬として飼育