A judge has said he wants to sleep next to a herd of Alpine cows to determine if angry neighbours are correct in saying the animals’ bells are as loud as a pneumatic drill and could really be causing them depression.
The Bavarian village of Foeching boasts picture-perfect farmsteads sat against an Alpine backdrop, but behind the idylic scenery is a battle between tradition and those wanting a new, modern lifestyle.
In the village, a woman farmer has been battling it out with a neighbouring couple who complained that the cowbells of her livestock were too loud. The couple say they have sleeping problems and both suffer from depression as a result of the noise.
The problem started when farmer Regina Killer leased a meadow next to the land of the plaintiff, who bought a house in the town four years ago.
According to the plaintiffs, who have not been named in local media, the cowbells make a noise of 100 decibels, the equivalent of a pneumatic drill .
Because the cows attract flies, they also claim their house has dropped 100,000 EUR (88,250 GBP) in value.
The case has now been dragging on for several years.
Even though Killer first reached a settlement with the neighbours in which she agreed to only allow up to seven cows to graze at the same time keeping a distance of at least 65 feet from their home, it did not stop them from complaining.
The husband and wife both launched separate cases at a Munich district court stating their unhappiness with the settlement but the judges threw out the case saying the agreed settlement was perfectly adequate.
The husband has now appealed the case at a higher regional court which this week heard both parties for the first time.
Presiding judge Johannes Nagorsen said that if both parties could not agree, it might be necessary to “see and hear” the matter on the ground.
Nagorsen said that it might be necessary “that we spend a night there with or without experts” to see how bad the cowbell sound is for sleeping.
Killer, however, said she does not want to accept possible compensation from the couple in exchange for taking her cows away, saying that she is “not corruptible”.
She said the pasture is the best she has as trees provide shelter for her cows.
The case is ongoing.
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Story By: Koen Berghuis, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
