Animal Bioscience, Aquaculture and Agritech

Scotland is the ideal environment to carry out research and development in the area of domestic livestock, companion animals, aquaculture and plant science.

We offer a truly world –leading scientific expertise, access to state of the art research facilities, a pool of highly skilled personnel and a growing cluster of innovative bioscience companies. This dovetails with Nation’s Innovative Life Sciences and Food and Drink sectors to deliver safe, sustainable and healthy food.

Scotland is recognised as a leading player in animal health, particularly in the fields of genetics, genomics and proteomics, endemic disease research and ruminant parasitology.

The aquaculture sector in Scotland is diverse from the farming of salmon and other fin fish species, the production of mussels and oysters, to the harvesting of seaweed.

Animal health, Agritech and Aquaculture – Key facts

  • Scotland has the largest cluster of animal bioscience/aquaculture researchers in Europe, with over 1,000 active researchers.
  • Scotland produces the highest number of research papers in veterinary sciences as a function of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
  • Veterinary science in Scotland wins more than 50% of UK veterinary funding.
  • Scotland is renowned for its veterinary science expertise, with its two veterinary colleagues ranked 1st and 2nd in the UK. Almost a third of the UK’s veterinary graduates are trained in Scotland each year.
  • The world’s first cloned mammal, Dolly the sheep, was created at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh.
  • The Roslin Institute has helped generate annual productivity gains of £247 million through its breeding and genetics research
  • The Easter Bush Research Consortium is one of the word’s largest animal health research groups.
  • Vaccines used around the world to protect sheep and cattle against common respiratory infections were developed in Scotland
  • The UK’s largest grouping of human and veterinary virologists is located at the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research.
  • Dictol, the world’s first commercial vaccine against a parasitic disease for cattle, was created in Scotland at the University of Glasgow.
  • The James Hutton Institute is leading the world in plant science research, central to facing global challenges of food security and climate change.
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