Visitor attractions that keep animals carry an unusual mix of responsibilities, because they must manage fallen stock and animal by-products to the same legal standard as any farm while also protecting members of the public who come into close contact with their animals. Martlands serves open and petting farms as part of our fallen stock and ABP collection service, working from our family-run, DEFRA approved base in Burscough, Lancashire. Where the public is present, discreet, prompt and biosecure handling is doubly important.
The Dual Duty of a Visitor Attraction
An open farm is both a livestock holding and a public venue, and that combination raises the stakes around fallen stock. The legal duties that apply to any keeper apply here too, with the same prohibition on burial and burning and the same requirement to use a licensed collector. On top of that sits a duty to visitors, who may be young children with their hands all over the animals and the surfaces around them. A fallen animal must therefore be removed promptly, handled out of public view, and managed so that it never becomes a hazard to the people the attraction exists to welcome.
Biosecurity Where People and Animals Mix
Close public contact is the defining feature of a petting farm, and it is also a route by which infection can pass between animals and people. Managing fallen stock well is part of controlling that risk, because a decaying carcass is a reservoir of pathogens and a draw for vermin in an environment where hygiene must be impeccable. Our blog on how ABP collection supports biosecurity explains the role prompt collection plays in keeping a site clean.
The Zoonotic Disease Dimension
Some diseases pass from animals to humans, and a public-facing animal attraction has to take that possibility seriously in everything from handwashing facilities to waste handling. Removing fallen animals quickly and hygienically reduces one avenue of risk, and understanding which diseases can cross the species barrier informs sensible precautions. Our explainer on understanding zoonotic diseases sets out why this matters in settings where people and animals share space.
Discreet, Prompt Collection
For a visitor attraction, the manner of collection matters as well as the fact of it. A prompt, low-profile collection that removes a fallen animal before opening or away from the public areas protects both compliance and the visitor experience. Our rapid-response fleet and our farm and fallen stock collection service are well suited to the sensitivity these sites require, and every collection comes fully documented.
Coverage for Attractions Across the Region
Open and city farms are dotted across the populated parts of our service area, often close to the towns whose schools and families visit them. Operators can read about our county-wide Merseyside fallen stock collection coverage, serving the urban-edge attractions of the conurbation.
Record Keeping for a Public Venue
Documentation matters even more at a site that welcomes the public, because it forms part of the wider safety and governance record an attraction is expected to maintain. Being able to show that fallen animals are removed promptly by a licensed collector, with paperwork to prove it, sits alongside your handwashing provision, your animal-contact policies and your other visitor-safety measures as evidence of a well-run operation. During busy periods such as lambing, when many attractions invite visitors to see newborn animals, that discipline is especially important, as it is exactly when scrutiny and footfall are at their highest.
Setting Up a Sensitive Service
If you run an open, petting or city farm, your fallen stock needs handling that satisfies the law, protects biosecurity and respects the public nature of your site. Call Martlands on 01704 776977 to arrange prompt, discreet, fully documented collection tailored to a visitor attraction.
