A French cattle farmer has been told by a court to pay his neighbours €8,000 in damages after they complained about the smell of his farm.
The unusual case brings an end to a 10-year legal battle involving Nicolas Bardy, a 38-year-old farmer from central France, and his retired neighbours.
Mr Bardy, whose family have been farming in the Cantal area for six generations, said the judgement was 'stupidity pushed to its maximum'.
But France‘s top civil court said the farmer kept his herd and bales of hay 'virtually underneath his neighbours' kitchen window.'
The smell coming from Mr Bardy's farm, which mainly stemmed from the 'maturing hay', amounted to 'abnormal neighbourly disorder'.
Limoges appeal court judges did admit, however, that it was 'not unusual to be confronted by odours generated by agricultural activity'.
He was ordered by the court to pay €6,000 in damages and €2,000 in legal fees.
Speaking to La Montagne newspaper, Mr Bardy said he had already spent €10,000 on his own legal fees to fight the decade-long battle.
It follows news of a Munich court rejecting a case made by a farmer's neighbours who complained about the noise coming from cow bells.
The couple, from Holzkirchen, initially took legal action in 2015. However, they lost their latest attempt in April this year.
A similar case happened in the UK last year. A West Yorkshire resident complained to Leeds councillors that his life was 'blighted' due to nearby 'bellowing' cows.
