Why We’re Suspending Animal Feeding at the Farm (for Now)

Written By Charis Sharpe

At Oxford City Farm, we believe that farm visits should always be safe, educational, and fun — for both human and animal visitors. That is why, after careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to pause all animal feed sales and public animal feeding during events until further notice.

This decision follows a recent outbreak at another UK farm, where over 250 visitors became seriously ill after a bottle-feeding event. The illness was caused by Cryptosporidiosis, a zoonotic disease that can spread from animals to humans. In that case, failures in hygiene, inadequate supervision and poor communication led to a major public health incident.

Why This Matters

All of our farm animals at Oxford City Farm are healthy, but it is not possible to test for all zoonotic diseases, which may develop even in healthy-looking animals. These include:

  • Cryptosporidiosis

  • E. coli O157

  • Campylobacter

  • Salmonella

Zoonotic diseases can spread through very small amounts of saliva, faeces, or contaminated surfaces. This can happen when animals are fed by hand, petted, or come into contact with areas where they lie down, such as muddy or soiled sections of their pens. Contamination of fences, gates, or other surfaces may be invisible, so risk can exist even when there are no obvious signs.

High-risk groups include:

  • Young children

  • Pregnant people

  • Older adults

  • Anyone with a weaker immune system

Even when animals appear healthy, infections can occur, often causing severe diarrhoea, vomiting, and cramps — sometimes requiring hospital treatment.

What We’re Doing

While we review our policies and procedures, animal feeding at public events will not be offered. This ensures we can maintain the highest standards of hygiene and visitor safety.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) advises that safe animal feeding requires:

  • A briefing for every participant on zoonotic risks

  • Staff supervision to prevent unsafe behaviour (such as touching faces, eating, or kissing animals)

  • Queue management and prevention of overcrowding

  • Ensuring children wash their hands properly for at least 20 seconds with soap and water

Currently, our staff resources do not allow us to meet these standards at busy public sessions, which is why feeding is paused.

What You Can Do

  • Visitors are still welcome to enjoy the animals safely

  • Wash hands thoroughly after touching animals or surfaces in animal areas

  • Follow guidance from staff to keep yourself and others safe

We appreciate your understanding and support. We remain committed to providing a positive farm experience and hope to reintroduce animal interactions only when we can ensure a safe and supervised experience for everyone.

Thank you for helping us prioritise health and wellbeing — for both visitors and animals.

Charis Sharpe
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