New Ill Health Guidelines for Open Farms

A new Code of Practice on Preventing or Controlling Ill Health from Animal Contact at Visitor Attractions has been published with help from FCFCG. It replaces the Health & Safety Executive guidance AIS 23 and can be viewed at www.face-online.org.uk/CodeofPractice

Every year millions of people visit premises, including city farms,  where members of the public, particularly children, can view and potentially touch animals. The purpose of this Code of Practice is to help ensure visitor health and safety by providing sensible, practical and proportionate guidance on preventing or controlling ill health at visitor attractions.

This Code of Practice has been produced by the industry and is aimed at the owners, operators and managers of such visitor premises.

The farming sector has come together to produce the Code of Practice to help ensure health and safety on visitor attractions where contact with animals is encouraged. These include conventional farms that open to the public for one day a year through to premises that cater for hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. They also apply to city farms.

The Code provides sensible, practical and proportionate guidance to help farms comply with the law and keep visitors safe. It includes a summary document, a checklist, pictures and real life case studies of measures that can be applied at the premises.