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Overview

Gain the knowledge, confidence, and hands-on experience needed to care for a wide range of fascinating animals, including bearded dragons, snakes, tortoises, meerkats, sugar gliders, rabbits, mice, parrots, and many more small animals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and invertebrates.

Based at the Goodliffe Centre, our dedicated facility for Animal Management and Agriculture students, you’ll learn from industry experienced lecturers and skilled instructors who are passionate about animal welfare. Through a combination of theory and practical work, you will develop essential skills in animal handling, health care, husbandry, behaviour, and nutrition. You’ll also gain valuable insight into the animal management industry, helping you prepare for further study or employment in zoos, rescue centres, veterinary practices, or animal parks. These are the perfect courses for animal lovers with big career ambitions.

Students holding Ferrets in an outdoor location. Student holding a multi-coloured lizard. Two students crouched down with a giant tortoise. Meerkats in the animal unit at Boston College.

Explore our Animal Management & Agriculture Courses

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Your Future in Animal Management & Agriculture

The Animal Unit

As part of your course, you’ll be based in the Goodliffe Centre, home to our ever-growing Animal Management and Agriculture unit.

Here, you’ll work with an impressive variety of small animals, birds, and reptiles – including Thor, our giant tortoise, and our two friendly meerkats – while gaining hands-on experience with professional, industry-standard equipment to take care of their daily needs.

Close-up of a giant tortoise.

Hear what our students think...

Hear from our students

“I study at college for three days a week, which includes a mixture of theory base study covering biology and practical study within the unit handling and cleaning out the animals. The Animal Management unit has a wide range of animals; I didn’t expect to have such a variety of exotic animals to care for. When I started the Animal Management course, I was petrified of birds, but the lecturers have been really supportive in helping me overcome this fear.

I’m hoping to carry on my studies within Animal Management by continuing my studies at university to become a vet.”

Alicia | Animal Management

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£22,806 Entry Level Salary

£22,934 Average Salary

£34,199 Potential Salary

Daily Tasks

  • Carries out maintenance on farm buildings, hedges, ditches and erects and repairs fences.
  • Catches, moves, and handles livestock, including in preparation for transport.
  • Treats minor ailments, delivers vaccinations and other medicines under the direction of the veterinary surgeon, and assists the veterinary surgeon as required.
  • Cleans barns, sheds, pens, yards, incubators and breeding units and sterilises milking and other equipment as necessary.
  • Weighs and measures foodstuffs, feeds animals and checks them for any signs of disease.
  • Cultivates growing crops by hoeing, spraying and thinning as necessary.
  • Operates farm machinery to prepare soil, fertilise and treat crops.

Available Courses

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3 Annual Openings

Job counts include both employed and self-employed persons, and do not distinguish between full- and part-time jobs.

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