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New veterinary skills centre to open in Aberdeen
The new centre will contain a mock veterinary practice and animal disease diagnostics laboratories.
£850k project will be ready for the start of the 2021-22 academic year.

Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) has announced plans to open a state-of-the-art veterinary clinical skills teaching centre in Aberdeen.

The £850,000 investment will see the creation of a ten-room Veterinary Clinical Skills Centre at SRUC’s Craibstone campus, containing a clinical skills laboratory, mock veterinary practice and animal disease diagnostics laboratories.

Opening in September, it will also be kitted out with 360-degree cameras, video streaming and touchscreen displays to connect the centre to other SRUC campuses and remote learners.

Caroline Argo, dean of SRUC’s North Faculty said: “Our new Veterinary Clinical Skills Centre will offer one of the best experiences for students of veterinary nursing and other animal-related programmes across the country. 

“Rural veterinary practices are vital for farming and rural life and they face challenges when it comes to finding veterinary nurses and support teams. By focussing on the development of talented new professionals for rural practices, our graduates will have the skills, knowledge and opportunities for long, successful and fulfilling careers.” 

More than 100 students will be expected to study at the centre each year. There will also be short courses for veterinary professionals and paraprofessionals at weekends at evenings.

It follows the announcement of new equine facilities for Craibstone, also due for completion in September. 

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Annual submission deadline small pet animal exemptions

News Story 1
 Companies marketing medicines for small pets exempt from authorisation must submit their annual return to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) by 30 November 2026.

Submitting this annual return ensures continued compliance with regulatory requirements for products marketed without a full Marketing Authorisation. The exemption specifically applies to products intended for animals, cage birds, terrarium animals, small rodents, ferrets and rabbits.

For further details and submission guidelines, visit the gov.uk website.  

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Bluetongue RZ extended across Scotland

The Scottish Government has announced an extension to a Bluetongue Restricted Zone that is in place in south-west Scotland.

From 3 October, the Restricted Zone will be extended to cover the whole of Scotland. The Animal, Plant and Health Agency (APHA) says this is in response to further disease spread, as well as simplify trading conditions ahead of the autumn.

Since the whole country will share a disease status, it will no longer be necessary to have a movement license to move susceptible livestock around the country. Restrictions on germinal products remain.

As of 1 October 2026, there were 1,979 cases of BTV-3 in England, 389 cases in Wales and 40 cases in Scotland.