A position statement was provided by the Department of Justice in regard to the use of service animals in public areas and is reprinted below for the guidance of facilities that allow public access. One of the underlying goals of the ADA is to foster the independence and self-sufficiency of individuals with disabilities.
Service animals allow many individuals with disabilities to be self-reliant.
Refusing to allow service animals in a place of public accommodation is not permissible under the ADA absent evidence that such animals pose a real threat to safe operation of the facility. The ADA requires zoos and other facilities to make reasonable modifications in their regular policies, practices, and procedures when necessary to afford an individual with disability the same goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations offered to others. Generally, zoos and other facilities must permit the use of a service animal by an individual with a disability. Any limitations on the use of service animals in zoos and other facilities where animals are exhibited must be shown by the zoo to be necessary for safe operation. Each facility needs to make its own analysis of its circumstances, and the determinations are very likely to differ from facility to facility depending on the types of animals and the configurations of the facilities.