That's a fact. I was with DragonClan briefly, years ago, and we were always raided. And, oddly, I found a similar situation on Europa despite it being regarded as among the so-called ghost shards.
This is among the reasons why Atlantic players have the reputation of being soft sorts and RMT gold buyers. I've spent entire weekend afternoons at the same champ spawn with my guild there and seeing only the occasional blue. None of these were scouts either. They just wanted to play Ultima Online as a multiplayer game
Thing is, unlike many of the masteries which have so-so benefits, the level 3 Animal Taming Mastery has nearly game changing benefits. As others have noted, Consume Damage has an astonishing benefit. Plus the mastery buffs are not the massive mana hogs at level 3. And - getting back to topic - Whisper has a manageable cool down at level 3 as well. Some of us still farm and train pets after all.
If your tamer is old enough for Shard Shields, I invite you to hook up with my guild on Atlantic and experience champ spawns as a fun, group activity. Get your book, eat it, and head back home if you'd like.
If you feel like taking on champs again with your pale samurai, I'd suggest the Swordsmanship mastery. Yes, most pale samurais use the Bushido mastery for the extra mana it gives as a passive ability. But if you're by yourself and you DARE NOT MISS with your next blow in a tough spawn situation, the spell Dead Eye is your lifesaving friend. It's only useful then due to its ludicrously high mana cost. You need to be smiting many things to keep it up.
But, and finally, I'm with you regarding the boredom that sets in doing champ spawns, especially by yourself. I relish the two Ms in MMO and I've never been a particularly good combat gamer. The character I enjoy playing the most in UO is patterned more after Falstaff than after any medieval warrior of legend