July 20, 2006
News & Observer (NC)
Madison Park
Kids won't be running around with the goats and sheep at this year's county fairs. They'll have to reach through or over a fence to pet their favorite animals.
All 11 members of the state Board of Agriculture, the policy-making body for the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, approved new sanitary and signage rules for petting zoos Wednesday.
Under the new rules, the department's animal health technicians and veterinarians will inspect the petting zoos prior to the opening. The zoos will have to have 29-inch high fences to separate animals from people and warning signs about the possible health risks of touching the animals and hand-washing stations. Food, drink and pacifiers are prohibited in the animal exhibits.
The Board of Agriculture approved the rules this week in order to make the regulations effective in September, which is the busiest month for county fairs.
Jennifer Chauvin, a Clayton mother whose son became infected at a petting zoo two years ago, welcomed the rules.
"It's for the safety of children," said Chauvin. "It's very necessary."
Her son Cameron was one of 43 people who contracted E. coli at the State Fair petting zoo in 2004. E. coli bacteria can be transmitted through animal feces.
Cameron, who was then 2, spent a month in the hospital and received nine blood transfusions as his kidneys failed and fluids filled his lungs.
The infection of children such as Cameron prompted the state to pass a law named after Aedin Gray, then a 2-year-old from Carr-boro, who nearly died after contracting the bacteria at the same petting zoo.
The state law charged the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services with the task of devising regulations for petting zoos and animal exhibits.
"This is an attempt to achieve a balance between protecting the public from E. coli and making sure that kids have the opportunity to be educated about farming and the importance of agriculture," said Steve Troxler, commissioner of the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
Last year, all 45 North Carolina county fairs voluntarily complied with the animal exhibit guidelines before they became law, agriculture officials said.
