Amazing Acres Farm is proud to tell you that we conform to USDA standards of animal care, practive and management and are licensed as an Animal Exhibitor. All commercial exhibitors of animals (petting farms, zoos, aquariums) require a license by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) under the Animal Welfare Act (7 u.S.C. 2131, et seq.).

The certification process includes a USDA Inspector's review of all animal health care records and unannounced farm visits to review the living condition and daily routine care given to the animals. Amazing Acres Farm, inc. has passed all USDA inspections! That's because we're always up to date on all animal health care and provide the nicest, cleanest living conditions to be found on any farm.

Before you hire any "petting zoo" company, ALWAYS make sure they are USDA certified and can prove it -- this protects you, the health and safety of the children, and ensure that you are not supporting farms that provide substandard care for their animals.

A handful of incidents occurred at a small number of County Fairs and petting zoos in 2004, and children were exposed to e-coli bacteria. At that time, large numbers of children were allowed to walk around inside an animal’s pen, where supervision was inadequate, and coming into contact with animal feces was quite possible. Furthermore, hand washing was only a recommendation.

Now, North Carolina has created laws that prevent anyone from going into an area where animals sleep, eat, and excrete waste, greatly reducing the risk of coming into contact with animal feces. Furthermore, the number of people allowed to enter an animal area is restricted, food is no longer allowed in the area and hand washing is required.

AMAZING ACRES FARM strictly follows these laws. The very first thing taught in the barnyard is why, how and when to wash hands. In our well-supervised, clean environment small numbers of students interact with our friendly farm animals. Hand washing is stressed throughout the program.