Originally published April 11 2005
Lawsuits mounting in Florida petting zoo cases
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
An outbreak of kidney failures in young children who have visited petting zoos in Florida is generating a number of lawsuits against the company that ran the zoos. Ag-Venture Farm Shows, of Plant City, Florida, operated petting zoos at the Florida State Fair, the Central Florida Fair, and the Florida Strawberry Festival. The suits allege that Ag-Venture should have protected visitors from harmful bacteria. Attorneys for the plaintiffs in the cases said that cautioning visitors to wash their hands was not sufficient. There are 24 confirmed cases of e. coli infection in the state, and another 40 suspected cases.
Lawsuits in the outbreak of kidney failures among children who have visited petting zoos in Florida are beginning to trickle into the legal system.
Statewide, there are 24 confirmed cases of E.coli infection and 40 suspected cases, the St. Petersburg Times reported Tuesday.
Most of those who were infected live in Orange County in central Florida, and that's where three lawsuits have been filed.
All have been filed against Ag-Venture Farm Shows of Plant City, Fla., lawyers said.
Ag-Venture operated petting zoos at the Florida Strawberry Festival in Plant City, the Florida State Fair in Tampa and Central Florida Fair in Orlando.
The lawsuits allege Ag-Venture should have done a better job protecting visitors from the bacteria and merely cautioning them to wash their hands was not enough.
"The reality is, trying to keep their hands washed constantly, not just wiping them down with a handy wipe -- it's a very difficult task," said Seattle attorney Bill Marler, who filed one of the suits.
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