ANIMALS at Scotland’s Rural College in Aberdeen are packing up their hutches, aquariums and aviaries and moving to a new £350,000 home for animal care and veterinary nursing.

All the creatures, great and small, are moving to a new unit for excellence at the Mill of Craibstone on the SRUC campus.

SRUC will invest over £350,000 into the new animal care unit, bringing the Mill of Craibstone on its Aberdeen campus back into full-time use for staff and students.

Rabbits, ferrets, rodents, fish, and reptiles will have new indoor facilities. Ponies, sheep and birds will enjoy a dedicated outdoor space. The SRUC team will move the animals across the campus to their new homes in July, in time for the official opening and start of the next academic year in August.

Animal care and veterinary nursing courses are among SRUC’s most popular programmes with students in Aberdeen. The new animal care unit will enhance the experience for students and provide an opportunity for more people to study animal care in the future.

The investment is part of SRUC’s vision to become a 21st-century rural enterprise university, with a strong regional footprint across the country.

SRUC is keen to hear from potential partners who would like to work with animal care students. The college recently adopted animals from the animal barn at Codona’s Amusement Park.

Dean of SRUC's North Faculty, Prof Caroline Argo, said: “SRUC is firmly committed to the Aberdeen area, and this new centre for animal care is part of our exciting plans for the region. This new home for animal care gives us the potential to expand in the future. We are already looking at ideas to create a centre of excellence unique to North East of Scotland and I look forward to sharing more about this in the future.”