CALGARY -- Staff at a petting zoo in northwest Calgary have come up with an inventive way to bring a little cheer to your special event while maintaining all the proper health regulations in regards to COVID-19.
Butterfield Acres, a Calgary petting zoo that has been closed for over a month because of the pandemic, is now offering special visits from one of their ponies.
However, since health regulations prevent the public from interacting with their animals, staff say customers are not allowed to ride or even pet the pony.
Butterfield Acres adds physical distancing is also required at all times, so the children must stay a prescribed two metres away as well.
"There is no way for the pony to give rides while still maintaining a safe physical distance between our farmer and the families we visit," staff writes on their Facebook page. "To comply with (health) guidelines, we are required to impose a strict, no-touching policy."
Details about the offer, which costs $74.99 plus GST for a 15-minute visit, are available on the Butterfield Acres website.
They add once the restrictions have been lifted, the ponies will be "excited" to give rides once again.
Alberta Health says one of the main issues faced by petting zoos such as Butterfield Acres is the inability to maintain physical distancing in those environments.
"The nature of petting and riding the horse would require close contact as the two metre restriction could not be maintained," said assistant director of communications Tom McMillan in an email to CTV News.
He says the company's adaptation to the current health rules is "a great example" of protecting the public's health.
"We will never be able to develop specific guidance for every business, social setting and activity. We want to thank Butterfield Acres for helping limit the spread of COVID-19 in Alberta."
The province is expected to release health guidelines for zoos and other settings involving animals in the near future.
