Under new Iowa law, county fairs get legal protections related to animal-to-human diseases

Last year, 2.3 million people attended Iowa’s 105 volunteer-driven, youth-oriented county and regional fairs. That means a lot of people in close contact with farm animals — and, as a result, the chance for outbreaks of zoonotic disease. “I see fair officials doing due diligence to reduce the risk of visitors getting sick,” notes Iowa Sen. Dan Zumbach, who, like many farmers, has been a 4-H leader and is active on his county board. But even if the proper precautions are taken (for example, proper handling of animal waste, posting signs and promoting hand washing among participants), outbreaks can and do happen, as evidenced by occurrences in the Midwest. According to the International Association of Fairs and Expos, county fairs in Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio and Wisconsin have had known cases of E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks since 2000. One concern of Zumbach’s has been the legal liability of county fairs when these incidences occur. His response: Last year’s introduction of SF 362, which received near-unanimous approval in the Legislature. Now a new state law, the measure explicitly states that no fair authority in Iowa (state, local or regional) is liable for injuries or deaths “caused by a domesticated animal pathogen transmitted at a domesticated animal premises located on its fairgrounds.” However, those liability protections only apply if the fair meets a new statutory obligation to post a warning sign “at a conspicuous place” where the animals are being kept. The sign must note the fair’s lack of liability for pathogen transmissions and also urge visitors to protect against disease by washing their hands.
“Iowa’s recreational use statute protected the county, volunteers and exhibitors from the obvious [animal] bite or kick,” Zumbach says, “but we felt that new legislation was needed for liability protection from zoonotic diseases.”