Jodie Marsh to appeal over animal licence decision

Jodie Marsh said she always knew she would open an animal sanctuary one day

Former model Jodie Marsh is appealing against a council's decision to refuse her application to keep lemurs at a private animal sanctuary.

Ms Marsh, 45, founded Fripps Farm in Lindsell, Essex, in 2020, which looks after animals including alpacas, emus and reptiles.

She applied for a dangerous wild animal licence, which would allow her to keep eight ring-tailed lemurs, but Uttlesford District Council rejected the application at a licencing and environmental health committee meeting in July.

Ms Marsh said she was "looking forward" to her court date to appeal the authority's decision.

Jodie Marsh founded the farm in Great Dunmow, Essex, in 2020 and is home to more than 400 animals

She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “We’ve lodged our appeal with the magistrates' court.

"It’s going to cost the council thousands and thousands of pounds to defend it.

"Wasting yet more money from the residents of Uttlesford.

"The reason [the council] rejected my licence is actually unlawful.

"[It] didn’t stick to the requirements of the licence and took irrelevant factors into account."

Uttlesford District Council said it would be inappropriate to comment at this time.

Committee members heard that Ms Marsh had taken a baby meerkat she was hand-rearing to a pub after insisting that the animal could not be left alone.

The meeting also heard that she had previously taken an owl to the pub.

Committee members raised concerns about the application and said noise from the lemurs could impact the community.

Richard Freeman, a councillor on Uttlesford District Council who chaired the licencing meeting in July, said: "The panel is concerned that Jodie Marsh has a perception, which she portrayed to the panel, that the animals in her existing care, and by extension the animals applied for under the licence, are her personal pets."