[PTTG]

You're assuming a human society.

The technicians are those with manipulators, generally small primates, rodents, and birds. They eat plenty of plant food and insects only sparsely supplemented with scraps from the larger carnivores.

The big carnivores just need to support themselves, and can do so with the assistance of the gadgets the technically-capabable individuals can make.

When the bears or the wolves are needed for brute effort, (that is, when oxen aren't available,) that takes some substantial extra energy, but at the same time those carnivores are getting shelter or more servants out of the deal, and long-term, it evens out.

Now, in an industrialized hawk aerie, where it's exclusively carnivores who double as technicians, then things get a little more problematic. The hawks need to be able to support themselves even after sacrificing hunting-hours to some other labor. Generally the only do so when making tools that enable them to get more food for the same effort.

Also, there is some outright magic going on here. Nobody needs to worry about feeding their brain -- it's a kind of ghostly spirit that's bonded to the critter in question.