Jodie Marsh wins fight with council to keep lemurs

Jodie Marsh should be allowed to keep lemurs at her private animal sanctuary, a judge has ruled.

The former glamour model fought Uttlesford District Council in court after it refused her application for a wild animal licence in July 2024.

Concerns had been raised about her taking a meerkat from her farm near Braintree, Essex, to the pub, but Ms Marsh insisted she was being targeted by online trolls.

District Judge Christopher Williams said the 46-year-old was "someone who very much cares for animals".

Ms Marsh, who appeared in the ITV series Essex Wives in 2002, took the council to court after it did not allow her to adopt eight ring-tailed lemurs.

She already cared for alpacas, emus and reptiles at the 3.5-acre (1.4ha) site and wept in court as the judge ruled in her favour.

Judge Williams said: "There is no evidence she has mismanaged any animals or caused any animals harm."

He criticised the council for providing "completely contradictory" views and going against reports stating Ms Marsh was a suitable keeper.

The judge said Dr Stephen Philp, a vet hired by the authority to make a report, had relied on photographs sent to him of the farm, with no certainty they had not been edited.

He also questioned why the authority said the lemurs would be too noisy, despite it admitting this was "impossible to measure".

"The decision of Uttlesford District Council was wrong and, in light of evidence, it continues to be wrong," Judge Williams added.

He said Ms Marsh was "passionate about the care and treatment of the animals in her care".