Petting zoos have become a popular attraction now that fewer prairie families have relatives on the farm and access to livestock is less common.
But with the popularity have come rules from public health officials to deal with contact between children and animals.
Carol and Al Borys of Thistle Hill Farms in Hay Lakes, Alta., have had a petting zoo for 12 years.
Carol Borys said their business has typical farm animals but with a twist. The cattle and poultry are exotic breeds rather than the more common varieties found on commercial farms.
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Borys said they follow the rules set by the local regional health authority, which allows hand sanitizers and wipes to be sufficient for cleaning children after they’ve touched the animals.
While doctors suggest sanitizers aren’t enough and prefer hand washing for a lengthy period of time with soap and running water, Borys said that’s not realistic, especially considering she sometimes sets up their zoo in parking lots.
“Petting zoos got the blunt end of the stick,” she said.
Pony rides, riding stables and cattle and horse shows are not required to make special washing provisions, she added.
“If you’re going to get that germophobic about animals, there’s more cases of E. coli and salmonella from restaurants than petting zoos.”
She also questioned how many adults wash their hands after a trip to the washroom.
The Boryses plan to move their petting zoo to a new site closer to Camrose within a year or two. They are planning to incorporate systems that have running water and space for several people to wash their hands at the same time and to allow an easier wash of the pens and fences.
“We want to do it properly, not retrofit it after the fact.”
At a 1999 fair in London, Ont., an infected goat and sheep caused 159 people, mainly children, to become ill with E. coli 0157:H7, or hamburger disease, which can attack the kidneys and cause death.
A report by Douglas Powell, scientific director of the International Food Safety Network at Kansas State University, noted that Sweden bans children younger than five years from visiting livestock farms because they are more vulnerable to E. coli infections.
“Seven years after all Canadian fairs were urged to adopt 46 recommendations to enhance petting zoo safety, many are still doing a lousy job,” he said.
That would be disputed by Glen Duck, executive director of the Saskatchewan Association of Agricultural Societies and Exhibitions. He said representatives from most of the group’s 62 members attended a consumer protection program workshop held during the association’s annual convention in March.
The workshop was one of 30 held across Canada by the national fairs association and included an evaluation of each fair’s grounds, barns, manure handling, signs, the location of washing facilities and the flow of human traffic.
“We think it’s important kids get to see animals,” Duck said.
“And a well-run petting zoo with hand washing will be fine.”
As a petting zoo owner for the past 25 years, Kathy Chaplin of Chaplin’s Farm near Saskatoon has developed rules. She will do 60 tours this year with about 2,500 children coming to the farm to interact with her rabbits, kittens, goats, lambs, pigs, chickens, ducks and geese.
She does not allow water bottles into the barn. As soon as the tour leaves the barn it encounters a bucket of soapy water with bleach. She puts the parents or teachers in charge of ensuring all children wash their hands.
“I also tell the kids before they leave to have a bath tonight and change their clothes.”
Chaplin said she tries to clean the pens once or twice a day but the animals poop and that is just nature at work.
“Kids can see this on TV but it’s different to feel it and smell it.”
