Target: Brooke Rollins, Secretary of U.S. Department of Agriculture
Goal: Limit health dangers posed to petting zoo animals.
Panic spread after multiple baby goats at a North Carolina mobile petting zoo tested positive for rabies. The development prompted the state’s department of health to issue an alert to people who might have visited one of Farm Adventures’ events during mid-summer. If the incubation period for rabies passes and symptoms begin developing without treatment, the disease is often deadly.
Tragically, the goats were euthanized. Officials believe bites from an infected skunk may have been responsible for the spread. Since requirements for petting zoos vary greatly from state to state, identifying if any lapses in welfare standards may have contributed to such crises becomes incredibly difficult.
Sign the petition below to demand the agency overseeing animal welfare advocate for a comprehensive and uniform, universal set of guidelines (including strict licensure and veterinary inspection requirements) governing these businesses that may pose a threat to animal and public welfare.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Secretary Rollins,
Attendees of nearly a dozen events in North Carolina may have been exposed to rabies. Possible exposure sites reportedly include a school and an assisted living facility. Petting zoo animals such as the young goats who were infected with rabies pose a particular danger because they have such close contact with the public.
Despite this danger, petting zoo regulations remain largely a patchwork of local and state standards. Some localities do not even require a US Department of Agriculture Exhibitor’s License. Strong inspection standards are seemingly also lacking in many of these localities. Fight for robust guidelines (including strict vaccine schedules) that apply across all states. Ensure another combined animal welfare and public health crisis does not unfold.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Ramon Karolan
