Support for bid to save Doonies

EVERY effort must be made to save a north-east rare breeds farm and visitor attraction, the chairman of a conservation charity has said.

The future of Aberdeen’s council-run Doonies Farm is to be debated in an emergency public meeting on Thursday and many people are desperate to save the Cove attraction.

Its closure is part of a round of cuts announced by Aberdeen City Council last month but members of the public are to rally against the decision at a meeting held in the Altens Thistle Hotel on Souter Head Road starting at 7.30pm.

Peter Titley, chairman of the Warwickshire-based Rare Breeds Survival Trust which has links with Doonies Farm, said: “Farm animals are not just disposable assets. Some of these animals are part of the UK’s livestock heritage.

“Doonies has one of the rarest collections of rare breeds in Scotland and it is the result of years of careful husbandry. I am very anxious that should not be wasted.

“Every attempt must be made to save Doonies and make the council think again. It has been a significant success story. Why see a success story closed down?” Cove and Altens Community Council chairman Andy Finlayson said it would be a “great shame” to lose it.

“We will try and convince the council it is doing the wrong thing,” he said.

In a letter inviting the city’s community councils and other interested bodies to Thursday’s meeting, Mr Finlayson described the council’s decision as “short-sighted and totally beyond comprehension”.

“This much-loved farm gives our citizens and tourists, in particular families and children, the ideal opportunity to view and have a ‘hands on’ experience with the great variety of rare animals and poultry that inhabit the farm.”

The farm’s current livestock numbers almost 350 cattle, sheep, horses, pigs and goats.