Lewis Adams
BBC News, Essex
Reporting fromChelmsford Magistrates' Court
Lauren Carter/BBC
Jodie Marsh was a person "passionate about the care and treatment" of her animals, a judge said
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".
He ordered the local authority to pay her £19,641 in costs at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court.
Neighbours of Fripps Farm, which Ms Marsh founded in Lindsell in 2020, attended several hearings to voice their opposition against her.
Judge Williams said there was "considerable animosity" between all involved.
PA Media
The ring-tailed lemurs Ms Marsh wanted to adopt have been rehomed elsewhere, the court heard
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 4.5-acre (1.8ha) 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."
English (US) ·