1) I couldn't really tell you about the animal science degree as I don't study it >_<
2) There is plenty to do during freshers week! The university starts advertising it months in advance, so you can get hold of a schedule and timetable well in advance and find out everything that is going on. There are four clubs in Canterbury if you are in to going out, there are plenty of 'meet and greet' type things if you just want to get to know people, last year I believe they did a speed-dating type thing where you could get to know people in a fun way, there are treasure hunts, loads of giveaways and every subject will put on their own week as well so you have a whole range of ways to meet the people on your course (none of which are compulsory of course so you can even choose to meet people in a more normal way if that's what you like!).
3) I think I would change the campus slightly as it is not too huge and there are very few computers on site, but we have a huge library about a 15 minute walk from campus where you can do all your work.
4) Canterbury is a kind of an in-between place, it is a city and there is always plenty going on, but it's not so huge that it's always busy. Everything you need is pretty close by, supposedly it is the safest university city in the country.
5) I am still an adherent to old-fashioned pen and paper
get's a bit overwhelming when you have a class of 20-30 people typing away during a lecture, and the temptation to log on to facebook is always too great!