The temporary permit of Akka’s Ganzenparadijs, which was issued by the municipality of Coevorden about two years ago, is illegal. This became apparent at the administrative court in Groningen.
The owners of the bird shelter in Dalen as well as representatives of the municipality attended the meeting. Local residents and the agricultural and horticultural organization LTO also had their say on whether or not the permit was justified.
“What a full house. We thought we would only talk to the municipality today,” said the owner of the goose paradise.
The bird sanctuary’s current permit lasts for two years and expires at the beginning of October. It is a temporary permit with built-in conditions that were not discussed with Akka’s Ganzenparadijs.
Examples include demolishing an earth wall within which the animals have to live. Not being allowed to keep peacock roosters and a maximum number of birds are other safeguards.
The owners do not agree with the conditions and have filed an objection. The municipality previously imposed a penalty of 10,000 euros on them for not complying with the conditions. The owners also objected to this.
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.
The municipality then immediately withdrew the permit. As a result, the penalty was canceled, but the bird shelter now does not know where it stands. It is not clear whether a permit is required and what it should contain.
“We acted on the advice of the municipality, so what can we be blamed for?” said a co-owner. “We don’t know where we stand.”
As far as the permit application is concerned, the reception falls between two stools. “We are not a company with animals, we have no revenue model. We take care of animals that have nowhere else to go,” she explains. According to her, there is not enough clarity about what they now have to comply with.
Everything hinges on communication, the owners said. Starting with the municipality. The judge also thought a conversation with the municipality at short notice would be a good idea. “Not that I have a role in that anymore,” she told both parties. The bird shelter and the spokespersons of the municipalities reached an agreement after the hearing.