The VSA Easter Anguston Farm faces closure unless vital funds are raised.
A charity farm in Aberdeen is urgently appealing for donations in a bid to stave off permanent closure.
Bosses at the VSA Easter Anguston Farm say they need to raise £10,000 a week to cover operating costs and loss of income resulting from the coronavirus outbreak.
The farm, which welcomes 20,000 visitors a year, has been closed to the public since mid-March, although staff remain on-site to feed the animals and carry out essential maintenance.
There are currently five full-time staff working at the site, as well as 15 trainees and a number of volunteers.
Social care charity VSA, which runs the farm, is now calling on supporters to donate to prevent the site being permanently closed.
In a statement, VSA said: “We rely on your generous donations to enable us to provide free access to this fantastic facility so that all children and families can come and learn about the animals we care for, play in our parks and learn about our woodland conservation while taking in a visit to our enchanted fairy woods.
“Sadly, as none of our fantastic supporters of the farm can visit due to the Covid-19 outbreak, this means that we are not receiving the generous donations we normally receive from our visitors to enable us to keep operating the farm as a family and community resource when we are allowed to reopen.
“We are urgently asking all of the people who would normally visit the farm to help us if they can, by stepping forward and continuing to make a donation to Easter Anguston Farm to help us continue to feed and care for the animals and enable us to reopen again to the public.”
VSA chief executive Kenneth Simpson added: “Because we have shut down the service provision from the farm and closed the site to the public, there is no income, but we still have to feed the animals, carry out maintenance and keep the staff employed.
“We are putting all our funds into making sure we have protective equipment and supplies across the whole organisation, but that means we need to find £10,000 every week to keep Easter Anguston running.”
