According to the administrative judge, the lawsuit over the permits for Akka’s Ganzenparadijs in Dalen has ‘fizzled out’. The temporary permit granted by the municipality of Coevorden appears not to be legally valid.
To the great surprise of the owners of the goose paradise, the hearing room in Groningen is filling up. It is not just the municipality’s spokespersons who sit at the table. Neighbors and the Agriculture and Horticulture Organization (LTO) also have something to say about the permit issued to the Dalen branch.
“What a full house. We thought we would only talk to the municipality today,” says Edwin Knol, owner of the goose paradise. This is the beginning of the hearing where miscommunication is the main issue. The pieces have not arrived either way. It is not clear to everyone what the judge would deal with.
Bridging
The bird sanctuary’s current temporary permit lasts two years and expires at the beginning of October. Because it is not yet clear what exactly the permit must comply with, this temporary permit is a bridge. When issuing this temporary permit, the municipality added conditions that were not discussed with Akka’s Ganzenparadijs. Such as breaking down an embankment in which the animals live. Not being allowed to keep peacock roosters and the number of birds that can be taken care of.
Penalty payment
The owners do not agree with the conditions and have filed an objection. The municipality previously also imposed a penalty of 10,000 euros on them because the conditions had not been met. In the meantime, local residents have also come to the defense because of the issued permit. Among other things, there are fears that bird disease could spread to nearby poultry farms.
The peacock roosters are no longer there. According to the LTO, the permit would not be legally valid due to procedural errors. To everyone’s surprise, the municipality’s spokeswoman confirmed this during the lawsuit. She had checked all processes again and in any case a legal deadline had been exceeded once.
Without a permit
The municipality then immediately withdrew the permit. An undesirable and uncertain situation for bird shelters. Legally, the institution is now without a permit. “We acted on the advice of the municipality, so what can we be blamed for?” says co-owner Titia Vuister, “We don’t know where we stand.”
As far as the permit application is concerned, the foundation falls through the cracks. “We are not a company with animals, we have no revenue model. We take in animals that have nowhere else to go,” she explains. With regard to animal welfare, such as the measures in the event of a possible outbreak of bird disease, the foundation is in contact with the supervisory authority NVWA.
Everything depends on communication, say the owners. Starting with the municipality. A conversation with the municipality in the short term also seems to the judge to be a good idea. “Not that I have a role in that anymore,” she says. The bird shelter and the spokespersons of the municipalities reached an agreement after the hearing.