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| Essex model Jodie Marsh tells court why she took meerkat to pub | Essex model Jodie Marsh tells court why she took meerkat to pub |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Jodie Marsh told a hearing at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court "it's not illegal to take a meerkat in a pub" | Jodie Marsh told a hearing at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court "it's not illegal to take a meerkat in a pub" |
| Former model Jodie Marsh defended taking a meerkat called Mabel to the pub as she appealed against a licensing decision involving her animal sanctuary. | |
| Ms Marsh was at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court on Friday to fight the refusal of an application for a wild animal licence to keep lemurs. | Ms Marsh was at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court on Friday to fight the refusal of an application for a wild animal licence to keep lemurs. |
| The media personality, who trained as a bodybuilder, said online trolls were behind much of the criticism of Fripps Farm in Lindsell, near Braintree, in Essex. | The media personality, who trained as a bodybuilder, said online trolls were behind much of the criticism of Fripps Farm in Lindsell, near Braintree, in Essex. |
| Ms Marsh, 46, said: "When I was bodybuilding they trolled me for that, when I was modelling they trolled me for that; now it's the animals." | Ms Marsh, 46, said: "When I was bodybuilding they trolled me for that, when I was modelling they trolled me for that; now it's the animals." |
| Ms Marsh, who set up a sanctuary in 2020, said she took the meerkat to "a friend's pub a mile from my house" | Ms Marsh, who set up a sanctuary in 2020, said she took the meerkat to "a friend's pub a mile from my house" |
| Uttlesford District Council rejected her application in July 2024. | Uttlesford District Council rejected her application in July 2024. |
| At Friday's hearing, Ms Marsh's lawyer Paul Oakley asked her about a report, prepared for the council by vet Dr Stephen Philp, which raised questions about whether it was appropriate to grant the licence. | |
| Ms Marsh said the vet was "basing his evidence off my trolls and neighbours". | Ms Marsh said the vet was "basing his evidence off my trolls and neighbours". |
| Mr Oakley asked her about a comment she made in an interview with Nigel Farage on GB News that she took a meerkat called Mabel to the pub "four nights per week". | Mr Oakley asked her about a comment she made in an interview with Nigel Farage on GB News that she took a meerkat called Mabel to the pub "four nights per week". |
| Ms Marsh told the hearing: "That was banter, that was me being funny." | Ms Marsh told the hearing: "That was banter, that was me being funny." |
| She said she had taken the meerkat to a pub "on a few occasions" when the animal was being hand-reared. | She said she had taken the meerkat to a pub "on a few occasions" when the animal was being hand-reared. |
| Ms Marsh added: "It's not illegal to take a meerkat in a pub". | Ms Marsh added: "It's not illegal to take a meerkat in a pub". |
| She was asked about an incident where she lifted a goose by the neck while filming a video about ducklings. | She was asked about an incident where she lifted a goose by the neck while filming a video about ducklings. |
| "I plopped [the goose] on to the pond," she said. | |
| Ms Marsh said it had not been hurt in the incident, and she had stopped it attacking the ducklings. | Ms Marsh said it had not been hurt in the incident, and she had stopped it attacking the ducklings. |
| She told the court the animal sanctuary was "not overstocked, we have that in writing from Defra who are the only people who matter when it comes to animal welfare". | She told the court the animal sanctuary was "not overstocked, we have that in writing from Defra who are the only people who matter when it comes to animal welfare". |
| Asked by Mark Smith, for the council, about issues of noise in relation to lemurs, Ms Marsh said "the noise was never a factor". | Asked by Mark Smith, for the council, about issues of noise in relation to lemurs, Ms Marsh said "the noise was never a factor". |
| "We're all set in five acres of land," she said. | "We're all set in five acres of land," she said. |
| She added that her application "didn't get rejected because of noise - it got rejected because I touched a goose by its neck and took a meerkat to bed with me". | She added that her application "didn't get rejected because of noise - it got rejected because I touched a goose by its neck and took a meerkat to bed with me". |
| Ms Marsh appeared in the ITV series Essex Wives in 2002 and went on to feature in several reality shows and magazines. | Ms Marsh appeared in the ITV series Essex Wives in 2002 and went on to feature in several reality shows and magazines. |
| She founded Fripps Farm, which looks after animals including alpacas, emus and reptiles, in 2020. | She founded Fripps Farm, which looks after animals including alpacas, emus and reptiles, in 2020. |
| She has previously spoken of how she has helped fund the animal sanctuary through her use of the website OnlyFans. | She has previously spoken of how she has helped fund the animal sanctuary through her use of the website OnlyFans. |
| In 2023, she told BBC Essex that OnlyFans was "amazing" and "paid my staff wages for the first year". | In 2023, she told BBC Essex that OnlyFans was "amazing" and "paid my staff wages for the first year". |
| The case was adjourned part-heard until May 28, when it will resume at Colchester Magistrates' Court. | The case was adjourned part-heard until May 28, when it will resume at Colchester Magistrates' Court. |
| Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. | Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. |