Occasional freeze is probably view distance, but could be other things. Check your settings to see if you have other settings that use up CPU resources.
As form animals? I just started a world that I have encountered moose, pigs, sheep, carribou, deer, wolves and a bear. All within about 500 blocks of where I settled which itself is about 750 blocks from spawn (on the edge of a lake so don't see much at spawn when I revisit upon death).