An increasing number of customers are bringing animals with them when they visit farm markets, pick your own farms, or agritainment activities. Animals can pose a food safety risk to produce, introduce disease to farm animals, frighten or upset farm animals. Outside animals can also pose a risk to employees and other market customers and farm visitors. Farmers need to consider these occurrences when keeping in compliance with regulations and buyer requirements specific to food safety and biosecurity to protect their farm animals. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) governs what you are legally allowed to do in regards to customers with service animals visiting your market or on your farm. This fact sheet will cover the specifics of the ADA, animals that are not protected by the ADA regulations, and how to reduce potential risk on your farm from outside animals. States often have regulations that go beyond the federal ADA regulation, information represented in this fact sheet is specific to New Jersey. If you farm in another state please consult the state by state guide linked at the end of this article.
What do the ADA regulations cover?
While many types of animals can provide comfort and emotional support to their owners, only service animals are protected by the ADA, specifically Title II and III. The ADA regulations define “service animal” as dogs, and less commonly miniature ponies, that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities such as guiding a blind person, alerting people who are deaf, assisting a person in a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or other duties. The work or task that a service animal has been trained to perform must be directly related to the persons disability. Some of these disabilities are obvious, others are not.
What questions can you legally ask?
When it is not obvious to you that an animal is a service animal you may ask just two questions to determine if the animal is a service animal.
1) Is the service animal required because of a disability?
2) What work or task has the service animal been trained to perform?
The service animal must have been trained to perform a specific task or work for a person with a disability in order to qualify for protection under the ADA regulations. Note that service animals do not always wear vests or harnesses, and there is no paperwork or ID Card carried by anyone with a service animal.
What questions are you legally prevented from asking?
1) You may not ask about the persons disability.
2) You may not ask for proof of the persons disability.
3) You may not ask for documentation or proof that the service animal is trained.
4) You may not ask for an animal health certificate.
What should you do once you are satisfied the animal is a service animal?
1) Inform the handler which areas of the farm are open to the service animal and handler.
2) Inform the handler where the handwashing areas are located, and that they should wash their hands before handling and consuming produce.
3) Inform the handler of the proper area for the service animal to relieve themselves.
4) Inform the handler of where plastic bags and trash cans are available to them to dispose of fecal material.
5) Inform the handler of any farm policies specific to service animals.
Are comfort or emotional support animals protected by regulations?
Neither comfort nor emotional support animals are covered by the ADA regulations. Without the ADA regulatory protection these animals can be refused entry to your farm without fear of legal ramifications based on risk to your crops, your animals, farm employees or other farm customers.
What risks do outside animals pose for farm livestock and other farm animals?
When outside animals are present on your farm there are diseases that can be spread to and by your farm animals and livestock. Zoonotic diseases are diseases spread between humans and animals and include E. coli O157:H7, salmonella, and others. The most common way for these diseases to spread is through direct contact, indirect contact, vectors, and contaminated food. It has been estimated that six out of ten known infectious diseases impacting humans are spread also by animals. For more information on zoonotic disease risks and preventive controls visit the CDC Zoonotic Diseases webpage: https://www.cdc.gov/onehealth/basics/zoonotic-diseases.html
Can you deny entry to animals on the farm?
In general the ADA regulations state that service animals may be present where the public is normally permitted. You may restrict service animals from specific areas such as produce handling areas used for washing, packing, and storage (risk of food contamination), or livestock areas (natural predator/prey relationships that can upset farm animals or potentially be a source of disease transmission).
What is appropriate behavior for a service animal and their handler?
Service animals should always be under the control of their handler. Service animals must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered, unless these devices interfere with the service animal’s work or the individual’s disability prevents using these devices. Service animals have been trained on how to perform a service to their handler and should be focused on that task.
Can you ask someone with a service animal to leave the farm?
If the service animal is behaving in a way that indicates they are not under the control of their handler, or if the handler is unable to control the animal, you may ask them to leave. Examples of this type of behavior would be: consumption of produce, urination, marking, or defecation in the production areas, excessive barking, or aggressive behavior.
Can service animals go into you-pick areas?
You should consider your production practices and the risk involved with having an animal in your fields when determining what parts of the farm service animals can access . Crops grown in close proximity to the ground are inherently higher risk crops for contamination when compared to crops growing farther from the ground. Crops typically consumed raw are also higher risk, and in many pick-your-own settings the customers are eating produce in the fields as they pick. Contact with animals can increase the risk of contamination of that produce. Handwashing stations should be provided to give the customers an opportunity to clean their hands after touching the service animal.
Can service animals go into farm stores?
Service animals may be given access to store areas that are generally open to the public. Service animals would be prohibited from food processing areas, such as a store kitchen, due to contamination risk.
What should you provide to help reduce risk when service animals are on the farm?
While the presence of service animals on your farm is likely to be a rare event, you should be prepared by having a designated area for service animals to relieve themselves, complete with pick-up bags and a trash can to dispose of fecal material. Handwashing facilities should be available for the handler.
What if I let my customers bring animals onto my farm, without restrictions?
Should you allow animals other than service animals onto your farm be prepared to deal with customers with animals frequently. At minimum you should consider the following:
• Where will these animals urinate and defecate?
• What supplies will you provide to allow proper clean up of defecation? (i.e. plastic bags and a trash can)
• Who will be trained to properly monitor this area to ensure that it does not become a contamination risk or an eyesore for your farm?
• Where will the customer handwashing station be so that their hands can be washed after handling their animal and after managing a defecation event?
• What signage will you need to instruct customers on your expectation for animal behavior and handling at the farm?
• How will you handle a situation when the animal and/or the handler is behaving inappropriately?
What are the steps to enforce your policies when someone wants to bring an animal on the farm?
Your own policies regarding service animals on your farm will dictate the conversation you have with a member of the public who wishes to bring an animal onto your property. Below are two examples of a farm policy:
- Animals other than service animals will be asked to leave the farm.
- If the disability is not known or obvious the handler will be asked the following questions to confirm the animal is a service animal:
- “Is the animal a service animal required for a disability?”
- “What task has the service animal been trained to do?”
- If the animal is confirmed as a service animal you will be informed of the following:
- Areas that are open to the handler and service animal
- Location of hand washing areas
- Areas that the service animal can eliminate waste
- Policies at the farm specific to service animals
- If the animal is not a service animal, you will be asked to remove the animal from the property.
- If you refuse to leave the property, the police may be called.
Allowing Any Outside Animal onto the Farm Property by Customers
- Animals are permitted on the farm property without restriction.
- Customers are made aware of the farm policies regarding outside animals on the farm by prominent signage at:
- The farm entrance
- The designated animal relief area/s at the farm.
- Signage will inform the customer the following:
- Areas that are open to the animal
- Location of hand washing areas
- Situations that would warrant when it is appropriate to wash their hands
- Area/s that the service animal can eliminate waste
- Instructions for what the customer should do if their animal accidentally relieves themselves in inappropriate areas
- Animal behavior that is considered unacceptable in the farm environment
- Consumption of produce
- Urination, marking, or defecation in areas outside of the designated relief area
- Excessive barking
- Aggressive behaviors towards other customers, employees, or farm animals
- Customers who are not handling their animals in accordance with the farm policies may be asked to leave.
What do you need to do to comply with the Food Safety Modernization Act/Produce Safety Rule or a buyer required third party audit?
Produce safety inspectors and auditors will focus on the potential risk of contamination with animals on your farm. You can expect questioning to focus on the production areas where the animals are permitted access, the areas that the animals are allowed to relieve themselves, how those areas are maintained, availability of handwashing facilities for the handler, and relevance and prominence of appropriate signage for the handler. Signage should indicate your expectations for the animal handler, locations of areas to support proper handwashing and trash disposal, and appropriate areas for the animal to urinate and defecate.
Where can I learn more about the ADA regulations on service animals?
ADA 2010 Revised Requirements – Service Animals https://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm
Frequently Asked Questions about Service Animals and the ADA https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html
State Specific Regulatory Table https://www.animallaw.info/topic/table-state-assistance-animal-laws
Rutgers Cooperative Extension would like to thank The Seeing Eye, Inc., the New Jersey State Board of Agriculture, New Jersey Farm Bureau and the New Jersey Department of Agriculture for their assistance in developing this fact sheet.
