Isle of Wight farm owner fined after hundreds infected with disease during bottle feeding
200 people had "the worst diarrhoea and vomiting" they had ever had
A farm owner on the Isle of Wight has been fined after more than 200 people were infected with a disease causing "the worst diarrhoea and vomiting" they had ever had after bottle feeding animals.
Sharon Wheeler, 60, failed to protect the public from being infected with the zoonotic disease cryptosporidiosis in April and May 2023, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said.
264 visitors were infected with the illness, which can cause abdominal cramps, diarrhoea and nausea, while bottle feeding animals at Hazelgrove Farm in Ryde.
Wheeler pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was fined £8,000 at Southampton Magistrates' Court on November 11.
She was also ordered to pay £9,528.35 in costs.
The outbreak infected more than 30% of those who took part in the activity, where visitors purchased a bottle of milk to feed a lamb or kid goat.
The HSE, which pursued the prosecution, said victims reported "the worst diarrhoea and vomiting they had ever had", and feared for their children's health.
Cryptosporidium, the parasite which causes the illness, can be found in the intestines and faeces of infected humans and animal.
Those who handle infected livestock or their faeces are among those particularly at risk, as are children aged between one and five.
5% of those infected were admitted for overnight hospital stays, including children, while 1,254 days were lost to time taken off work and school.
A joint investigation by the HSE and the UK Health Security Agency found several failures in the way the animal feeding activity was run.
The investigation found Wheeler failed to provide adequate washing and drying facilities and visitors interacted with animals without the necessary supervision.
Children were even observed kissing goats and lambs visibly contaminated with faecal matter, the HSE said.
The investigation also found visitors were not given sufficient information about the risk of zoonotic disease and controls in place, and Wheeler failed to properly risk assess the activity.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Francesca Arnold said: "It is extremely important that farmers understand the risks on their farm, and they should ensure that visitors are protected when inviting the public onto their farms.
"Health risks from contact with the animals need attention and must be controlled. If the zoonotic risks had been properly controlled, this incident could have been avoided, but the failures during the animal feeding activity meant a large number of visitors became ill and some suffered lasting effects."
Wheeler declined to comment.