Author: Elliott Garber, DVM · Published
Petting zoo and farm visit safety starts with choosing appropriate contact, supervising children, washing hands, and keeping food outside animal areas. These steps reduce risk; they cannot make an animal visit risk free. Animals that look healthy can still carry germs, and fences or other surfaces can also be contaminated.
For hosts, a clear reservation description helps guests prepare. Creatures booking lets you describe the visit, set session limits, and send booking information. The operator still needs the facilities, staff, animal-care plan, and public-health advice appropriate to the activity.
| Before contact | Ask which activities suit your group |
|---|---|
| Hands | Wash with soap and running water after animal areas |
| Food | Eat and drink in a separate nonanimal area |
| Children | Supervise contact and prevent hand-to-mouth behavior |
| Higher risk | Plan extra precautions with a healthcare professional |
| Hosts | Use current veterinary and public-health guidance |
Ask about the actual visit before you book
An observation tour, a walk inside an enclosure, and a feeding session involve different contact. Ask the operator where visitors go, which animals are involved, who supervises, and where hands are washed. A general claim that animals are “friendly” does not answer those questions.
CDC’s animal exhibit guidance explains that children younger than 5, adults 65 and older, and people with weakened immune systems have a higher risk of illness from animal germs. Those groups need extra precautions. If a participant is pregnant or has a health condition affecting risk, discuss the planned activity with their healthcare professional before booking.
Ask for a suitable observation alternative when direct contact is not appropriate. Viewing from outside an enclosure may change the activity, but does not remove every environmental exposure. The operator should be able to explain the route and the precautions without promising safety for an individual medical situation.
For a school group, the farm field trip guide covers headcounts, chaperones, and preparation. For a quieter visit, ask the questions in our farm sanctuary guide.
Wash after the animal area, including observation visits
Find the sinks before entering. CDC’s hygiene guidance recommends washing after touching animals or associated equipment, after leaving animal areas even without direct contact, and before eating or drinking. Help young children wash properly.
Use soap and clean running water, scrub all hand surfaces for at least 20 seconds, rinse, and dry. CDC’s handwashing guidance explains the steps. If soap and water are unavailable, use sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol temporarily, then wash when facilities become available. NASPHV’s 2023 guidance adds that visible dirt should be removed before sanitizer is used. Sanitizer works less well on visibly dirty or greasy hands and is not effective against all germs.
For families, make washing a deliberate transition before retrieving snacks. For hosts, plan enough usable facilities and supervision for the real flow of visitors. Ask how a wheelchair user or a small child will reach them. Check water, soap, drying supplies, and the surrounding surface during the day. A sink visible in a promotional photo is not enough if it is unavailable when guests leave.
Keep eating and animal contact in separate places
Leave food, drinks, cups, pacifiers, toys, and strollers outside animal exhibits, following the site’s storage arrangements. Do not share snacks with animals, eat while petting them, or let children sit and play on the ground in their area. Keep hands and objects away from mouths during the visit. These are part of CDC’s exhibit recommendations.
Choose pasteurized products; CDC advises against eating or drinking raw, unpasteurized products at animal exhibits.
A picnic area should be a separate nonanimal space. Guests should leave the animal area and wash before eating there. Do not treat an animal barn as the rainy-day lunch area. Ask the operator about an alternative before unpacking food.
Hosts can make the route understandable: arrival briefing, animal area, exit and handwashing, then a separate rest or eating area. Keep the instruction consistent across the website, staff briefing, and signs. Visitors should not need to guess which rule applies at each gate.
Choose contact carefully, especially for young children
CDC advises that children under 5 should not touch reptiles, amphibians, or poultry. Do not offer a chick or duckling to a young child because it is small enough to hold. Animal size and appearance do not establish a low-risk encounter.
The current NASPHV Animals in Public Settings resource, checked October 29, 2026, identifies its 2023 compendium as the current edition. It gives venue operators detailed recommendations on contact, facility design, and animal management. Its guidance advises against direct contact with preweaned calves, reptiles, amphibians, and live poultry for higher-risk visitors, with particular concern about young lambs and goat kids too. Hosts should review the whole guidance with their veterinarian and public-health advisers when choosing animals and activities.
Keep birth areas and reproductive materials outside the public route, and seek specific professional guidance about these settings. Pregnant visitors should ask their healthcare professional about animal-related exposures; the compendium discusses particular concerns associated with birthing exhibits.
Supervise behavior, not just attendance
An adult standing nearby is useful only if they are watching the interaction. Explain the rules before reaching the animals. Follow the handler’s instructions, move calmly, stay out of areas staff close, and do not chase, lift, or restrain an animal for a photograph.
CDC’s farm animal guidance cautions against approaching animals from behind, standing behind them, grabbing tails, or putting fingers near mouths. Supervise children throughout. If feeding is permitted, follow the operator’s exact procedure; do not improvise with food brought from home.
Respect space and barriers. Keep children out of gaps between an animal and a fence, and wait for staff to manage gates. A photo can wait. Stop the interaction when the handler asks, when an animal moves away, or when the group can no longer follow the instructions.
Visitors who keep animals at home should also ask about biosecurity. CDC advises cleaning shoes and changing clothing when visiting other farms before contact with animals again. Follow the host’s additional requirements.
What hosts need beyond a rules notice
Use the NASPHV compendium with veterinary and public-health advice to plan the actual operation. Animal selection, health monitoring, housing, cleaning, contact supervision, visitor flow, and staff training belong together. Removing a visibly ill animal is necessary, but healthy-looking animals still require the same risk controls.
For physical hazards, Rutgers Cooperative Extension recommends regular farm inspections and plans for activities and emergencies. Walk the public route, check barriers and gates, secure machinery and chemicals, and make sure staff know how to stop a session and summon help. Assign someone to check the facilities during opening hours.
Write the limits honestly. Guests should know whether the activity is observation only, whether animal contact may change, and which ages or needs require advance discussion. Use the live farm tour booking setup guide to make those instructions part of the reservation information. The farm website privacy checklist helps keep the public information appropriate.
Make preparation part of the booking
Set a session limit that your staff, facilities, route, and animals can support. Include clothing, contact restrictions, washing arrangements, access details, and the day-of contact. The Creatures offering guide explains how to describe and schedule an offering.
A booking page cannot certify that a venue is safe or compliant. Review the program with qualified advisers and revisit it as animals, activities, facilities, or public-health advice change. Our agritourism planning guide and waiver questions cover the related business decisions.
Explore more farm regulations and paperwork guides as you plan.
Common questions
Do I need to wash if I only touched the fence?
Yes. Wash after leaving animal areas, including when you did not touch an animal. Surfaces in those areas can be contaminated.
Does sanitizer replace a handwashing station?
Plan for soap and running water. Sanitizer is a temporary fallback when washing is unavailable, followed by washing as soon as possible.
What if someone becomes ill after the visit?
Contact a healthcare professional and mention the animal visit, its date, and the activities involved. Seek urgent care for severe symptoms. Tell the operator so they can follow their incident and public-health procedures; do not try to identify the cause from the visit alone.
Do this next on Creatures
For hosts and readers who also keep goats, these animal tools help organize the animals behind a visitor program. The listing and directory actions concern animal ownership and businesses, not visit availability.
- Add a goat profile for an animal you own or manage. You can start with guest signup. See how to add an animal.
- Open an animal record to organize care information. It opens for visitors; a free account is needed to save. Read how to add a record.
- Create your farm or organization profile using the guest signup flow. The organization and team guide explains the account workflow.
- Save a goat listing alert if you are considering animal ownership and can meet their care needs. This is an animal listing search.
- Browse goat listings and check the seller, animal details, and current availability individually.
- Browse the breeder and farm directory to research animal businesses. Ask each business directly about its activities and visiting policy.
