‘Multiple’ baby goats had rabies at a mobile NC petting zoo, officials say
Multiple baby goats at a North Carolina mobile petting zoo had rabies and may have been in direct contact with people at events while infectious, state health officials said Friday.
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Anyone who contacted the goats from Farm Adventures in the rural northern Iredell County community of Harmony between July 28 and Aug. 27 should contact their local health department, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services urged.
That’s so officials can determine if you need medications to prevent infection from the potentially fatal disease, according to an NCDHHS news release.
Events included one on Miller Mills Road in Hickory Aug. 9, Charlotte Observer news partner WSOC reported.
The North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health confirmed the cases.
“The petting zoo held off-site events involving children and elderly individuals across multiple counties within that time frame,” according to the news release.
“Organizers of these offsite events are being notified,” officials said. “This investigation is ongoing and additional information about potential exposure locations at public events will be released once available.”
Rowan County Public Health officials on Saturday alerted Rowan residents to the case and said they’ve yet to confirm any exposure locations in the county.
“Residents who believe they may have been exposed should not wait for symptoms to develop,” officials said. “Contact your health care provider, or Rowan County Public Health for guidance” at 704-305-8636.
On social media, the owners of the zoo described the past few days “as incredibly difficult.”
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They said they are “working closely with public health officials, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, and animal control to address this issue and ensure the safety of our animals and clients.”
“Our 4 precious baby goats have been euthanized to prevent further spread,” the owners wrote. “We will be closely monitoring our remaining animals under the guidelines provided by health officials.”
The baby goats lived in a pen separate from others “and were too young to receive their vaccinations,” according to the owners.
“We unfortunately encountered a skunk in their pen, which we promptly removed and disposed of,” according to the Farm Adventures social media post. “However, during this process, the skunk was able to bite the goats.”
The owners said they had “no clue” the goats were bitten, and the babies “showed no sign or symptoms of rabies.”
Human rabies infections in the U.S. “are extremely rare,” and none have been reported in North Carolina since 2011, according to NCDHHS.
In 2025, the state tested at least 4,000 animals for rabies, and about 6% tested positive, officials said. Most were in skunks, raccoons, bats and foxes.
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Farm Adventures described what happened to their goats as “distressing.”
“RIP Molly, Maggie, cow and Uno,” the owners said.
This story was originally published August 29, 2026 at 10:16 AM.
