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Visitor attractions
Animal contact liability means the legal responsibility an open farm or petting attraction has for visitors who fall ill after touching animals or their surroundings. It matters for insurance because an illness claim is treated much like an injury claim under public liability cover, and insurers usually look closely at how you control contact and hand washing.
Part of: Visitor attraction insurance
In short
Farm animals naturally carry organisms such as E. coli O157 and Cryptosporidium parvum, which HSE says can cause illness ranging from diarrhoea to kidney failure, with young children and the elderly most at risk. Employers must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that visitors are not exposed to risks to their health (Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, s.3), and must assess those risks. HSE’s guidance, and the industry Code of Practice it endorses, centre on proper hand-washing facilities, not gels alone, and keeping food away from animal contact areas. Public liability is the cover usually engaged, subject to the policy terms.
Last reviewed 7 October 2026 by the Apex commercial team.
Several duties overlap. Criminal health and safety law sets what you must do; civil law decides whether a visitor who falls ill can recover damages.
| Law | What it requires |
|---|---|
| Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, s.3(1) | Every employer must conduct its undertaking so as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that people not in its employment are not exposed to risks to their health or safety. |
| Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, reg. 3 | A suitable and sufficient assessment of risks to people not in your employment (reg. 3(1)(b)). With five or more employees, record the significant findings (reg. 3(6)). |
| COSHH | HSE’s zoonoses guidance says employers and the self-employed must assess health risks from hazardous substances, which include micro-organisms, and prevent or control exposure. |
| Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, s.2 | The common duty of care to visitors: reasonable care to see they are reasonably safe, with extra allowance for children being less careful than adults. |
| Animals Act 1971, s.2(2) | A keeper of a non-dangerous species can be liable for damage, such as a kick or bite, where the Act’s conditions about known characteristics are met. |
If you also exhibit animals not normally domesticated in Great Britain on seven or more days a year, check whether the Zoo Licensing Act 1981 applies.
HSE’s page Preventing or controlling ill health from animal contact at visitor attractions or open farms sets out the core controls:
HSE points operators to an industry Code of Practice, Preventing or Controlling Ill Health from Animal Contact at Visitor Attractions. The 2021 edition is published by Access to Farms. HSE was consulted and endorses its “sensible, proportionate, reasonable and balanced advice”. The code says it followed the review of a major E. coli O157 outbreak in Surrey in 2009 and replaced earlier HSE guidance.
These examples are illustrative, not real claims.
Most open farms combine a farm policy with attraction and retail cover. Which section responds depends on the wording and what you declared.
| Risk | Cover usually engaged | Check |
|---|---|---|
| Visitor falls ill after animal contact | Public liability; bodily injury definitions usually include illness and disease | Any communicable disease or pathogen wording that limits cover |
| Kick, bite or fall in an animal area | Public liability | Contact activities, events and seasonal openings declared |
| Food from the shop or café makes someone ill | Products liability | Own-produced and own-label food declared; outside caterers’ cover |
| Closure after an outbreak | Business interruption | Many BI sections need physical damage first; disease extensions vary and may not cover a voluntary closure |
| Staff catch a zoonotic infection | Employers’ liability | Seasonal and volunteer staff included |
| Livestock disease or death | Livestock cover | Valuations and disease exclusions |
A notice telling visitors you accept no liability will not help with illness. A trader cannot exclude liability to consumers for death or personal injury caused by negligence, and “personal injury” includes any disease (Consumer Rights Act 2015, s.65(1) and (3)).
This is practice, not law, but it is where most underwriting questions land. Illness claims are hard to defend without evidence, and the evidence is usually about hand washing.
A well-evidenced control regime usually makes the risk easier to present, though it does not guarantee terms.
If this affects your business, these are the points a broker will ask about:
Speak to a broker
Open farm and attraction cover, placed by a named broker
Send us your current schedule, or tell us about the property if you are arranging cover for the first time. Or leave your number and a named broker will call you back, usually the same working day.
Apex Insurance Brokers is an independent insurance broker based in Bristol, established in 2009 and authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. We are not tied to one insurer: we work with over 30 markets, including Lloyd’s syndicates through wholesale brokers, and every client has a named broker who handles the placement, mid-term changes, certificates for clients and the renewal.
Yes, if the visitor can show the farm failed to take reasonable care, for example by not providing or supervising hand washing or by allowing eating near animals. Such claims are usually handled under public liability insurance, subject to the policy terms and any disease wording.
No. HSE’s guidance says alcohol gels and wipes are not a substitute for hand washing on farms. It recommends washing facilities with running water, preferably warm, soap and paper towels, enough for the number of visitors expected to use them at once.
The code is industry guidance, not law. HSE was consulted on it, endorses its advice and points operators to it. Following it is a practical way to show you have met your legal duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 to protect visitors.
Usually, because liability policies generally treat illness and disease as bodily injury. Check for any communicable disease or pathogen exclusion, and make sure animal contact activities and events are declared, as cover is subject to the policy terms.
It is not compulsory, but a farm that produces and sells food can be strictly liable as a producer under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 for damage caused by a defective product. Products liability, often combined with public liability, is the cover that usually responds.
Apex arranges public, products and employers’ liability for open farms and petting attractions. Tell us how visitors meet your animals and we’ll find cover that fits. Or call 0117 325 0027.
Start your quote Call 0117 325 0027Apex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales, company number 07014570. This page is general information, not advice on your individual circumstances. Cover is always subject to the insurer’s acceptance and the policy terms, and this page does not guarantee that cover will be available or on what terms.
