The pet and player shared buffs.

[Shandorei]

Why did they change Kindred Spirits?

Is it still a buff between you and your pet, or is it just a passive, dull talent?

I really think this talent and Spirit Bond helped Beast Mastery hunters to feel a special bond with their pet's a wee bit more

[Tahlian]

I suppose they might have decided that with Aspect of the Cheetah and Aspect of the Pack, we didn't need any further movement buffs, especially considering that BM has had the Pathfinding talent for quite a long time. They also said repeatedly that they were trying to remove any "flat damage baked in" talents, as they thought they were "boring." Yeah, I sort of miss being able to not enchant my boots with a movement-enhancing enchant...but I like the extra 10 focus for focus pooling before Bestial Wrath more than I miss the movement and AP increase.

If anything, given BM's new playstyle, I feel more bonded to my pets than I did before the Shattering. It's part of what drives me nuts about having to go Survival for some fights...in that spec, I pretty much just send my pet and forget about it. It goes against most of my instincts to do that.