Farming: SRUC offer animal health courses

An HND in rural animal health is one of several new courses being introduced by Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) as its new veterinary teaching and learning facilities come on-stream.

The college said that the Rural Animal Health course was the first of its kind in the UK and was aimed at filling the growing demand for Veterinary Technicians to support veterinary teams working in rural animal practice.

The course, which will be taught at SRUC’s Craibstone campus in Aberdeen, will allow students to work both within a veterinary team and to carry out permitted procedures and provide advice on multiple species of farm and rural animals.

Another new venture for the SRUC, the Animal Welfare Science course which takes place at SRUC’s Edinburgh campus, is the only degree programme of its kind in the UK and draws on the expertise of one of the largest Animal Welfare research teams in the world.

And marking the first degree level course to be delivered at West Lothian’s Oatridge college, Equine Science and Management, will equip graduates with the skills and knowledge to make an effective contribution to the equine industry.

At postgraduate level, a Master of Research (MRes) in Zoonoses and Epidemiology which will focus on developing research skills will be delivered largely by distance learning from the SRUC’s Inverness site.

‘These new courses add to SRUC’s strength and depth of provision in animal welfare and veterinary science as we move towards becoming an enterprise university at the heart of our sustainable natural economy,” said the SRUC’s academic director, Professor Jamie Newbold.