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The
court in the town of Dax ruled that the noise from the flock of
around 60 ducks and geese kept by retired farmer Dominique
Douthe in the foothills of the Pyrenees, southwestern France,
was within acceptable limits, broadcaster France 3 said.
"The ducks have won," Douthe told Reuters after the court
decision. "I'm very happy because I didn't want to slaughter my
ducks."
The complaint was brought by Douthe's neighbor who moved from
the city around a year ago into a property about 50 meters
(yards) away from the enclosure in the Soustons district where
Douthe keeps her flock.
The dispute is the latest in a series of court cases that have
pitted the traditional way of life in rural France against
modern values which, country-dwellers say, are creeping in from
the city.
In a court ruling in September, a rooster named Maurice was
allowed to continue his dawn crowing, despite complaints from
neighbors who had also moved in from the city.
The neighbor in Soustons, about 700 km (430 miles) south-west of
Paris, who filed the complaint about the quacking has not been
publicly identified.
The neighbor's lawyer said the noise exceeded permissible
levels, and prevented the plaintiff enjoying their garden or
sleeping with their house windows open.
The neighbor had asked for immediate steps to reduce the noise,
and for 3,500 euros in damages, according to French media
reports.
(Reporting by Regis Duvignau; Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing
by Gareth Jones)
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