ABOUT 1000 chickens remain at Swampy Marsh’s central Mortlake shed despite Moyne Shire ordering they be removed permanently.
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Neighbours watched on as two council officers arrived at the Townsend Street shed yesterday afternoon to determine if their directive had been met, but Mr Marsh refused them entry.
A council spokesman declined to comment yesterday, saying chief executive officer David Madden would speak with the staff involved today and would then make a statement.
Mr Madden last week said council officers had previously made two attempts to inspect the site where Mr Marsh also refused them entry.
The shed, on commercial-zoned land, was home to 3000 birds, which council said was in breach of its planning laws. Mr Marsh believes his operation is covered under a planning scheme exemption.
He said about 2000 birds had been moved to his Purnim property to mature before joining his organic egg farm, but he wasn’t prepared to risk moving younger birds who were not fully feathered. He said there would be animal welfare issues which he would be liable for.
“The birds I moved haven’t settled in properly, so I’m not prepared to risk it with the younger birds,” he said.
“All it would take is a cold snap or more unstable weather and they’d be dead. I’m worried first and foremost about animal safety.”
The birds remaining on site yesterday appeared to be a mix of fully feathered birds and chicks still covered in yellow down.
Mr Marsh said he had no plans to abandon his Mortlake operation, which sits behind the town’s supermarket and across from homes, even when the remaining birds were old enough to be moved, saying he was expecting to have another 2000 birds at the shed in April.
“I’ll stand my ground and I’d really like them to take this to court,” he said.