WITH the country in lockdown and most students and staff working remotely at home, resident staff at Sparsholt College are pitching in to help with caring for the animals.

Students are now mostly working remotely but there are still over 1,200 animals from 200 different species in the college’s animal management centre, from red panda, black lemurs and a dwarf crocodile to livestock including a prize-winning herd of Holstein cattle on its 126-hectare working farm, 66 horses at its equine centre plus carp, catfish and exotic fish at its Aquatic research and conservation centre to be looked after.

Principal designate, Julie Milburn lives on the Sparsholt campus, she said: “Rest assured that the welfare of our animals across the campus remains a key priority during this period. This means that all staff that reside on site will don the uniforms, and take directions from the teams to make sure all the jobs get done.”

The staff ensuring that the welfare of the animals remains at an excellent standard includes many members of the College team, such as residential wardens, the grounds and premises teams, local volunteers and the senior leadership team.