Santa Barbara County fair livestock students meeting new statewide ethics training requirements
Livestock students at the Santa Barbara County Fair are now having to meet new statewide quality assurance and ethics training requirements.
“They have to work their way through an online education program,” said Santa Maria Fairpark CEO Richard Persons. “That program curriculum varies by the age of the student, but basically it teaches them about proper care and handling and doctoring of their animals.”
Last year, the State’s Fairs & Exposition Branch approved the new requirements for all junior livestock exhibitors, including those who show large and small animals.
“What it’s teaching the kids is the ethical treatment of animals,” said Dutch Van Patten, who advises Righetti FFA, Santa Maria FFA and Orcutt/Sisquoc Grange. “Even though these animals are being raised to be food for human beings, you still need to treat them ethically.”
To meet the state requirements, students must complete an online program that is administered by the Youth for the Quality Care of Animals (YQCA).
“It’s three one-hour courses and we did it all in one day and it’s something every exhibitor has to do,” said Righetti FFA student Joshua Lopez.
According to the YQCA website, the quality assurance multi-species program is for students ages 8 to 21, with a focus on three core pillars: food safety, animal well-being, and character development.
“I learned a lot from the course,” said Hannah Pope of Righetti FFA. “There’s a lot of things I didn’t know and from taking the course, I learned it.”
The Santa Barbara County had its own youth exhibitor quality assurance program in place for more than 10 years.
Persons said the new state requirement replaces the fair’s existing program.
He added every livestock student at this year’s fair is in compliance.
“When they completed it, it provided them with a certificate and when they turned in their entries, we require a form to tell us what entries, what animals and when they turned that in, they had to turn in their certificate,” Persons said.
For more information about the YQCA program, visit the Youth for the Quality Care of Animals website.
The Santa Barbara County Fair runs from July 10-14.
Visit the Santa Barbara County Fair website for additional information.
