Dordogne : la mare aux grenouilles de Grignols pourrait être sauvée sudouest.fr - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sudouest.fr Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A French judge has sentenced a pond full of frogs to capital punishment. Their crime? Being too noisy. The judge decreed the pond must be drained within 90 days. The legal battle over the frogs of Grignols, a village (population: 587) in the Dordogne area of southern France , has a long history. The frogs live in the backyard pond of Michel and Annie Pécheras. Twelve years ago, Michel re-excavated the 300-square-meter pond and moved it farther from the property line of his neighbor, Jean-Louis Malfione. Things seemed fine for a few years. But in 2012, Malfione brought legal action due to the amphibians’ cries of “Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?” during the mating season. At times, their amorous ribbits reached 63 decibels from Malfione’s open window. Related: First fluorescent frog in the world found in South America The case was thrown out by a judge in 2014 but later upheld by a judge in Bordeaux. Since then, several legal jurisdictions have heard the case. French e
Supplied
An investigation found that the frogs croaked at 63 decibels - the equivalent of the noise made by a washing machine or a vacuum cleaner. (File photo)
A French couple have lost a nine-year legal battle over the croaking of frogs in their garden pond that had annoyed the neighbours. Michel and Annie Pecheras, who live in Grignols, an isolated hamlet in the Dordogne region, were told they have 90 days to drain the 300-square-metre pond and get rid of the grenouilles (frogs) after neighbours complained that the noise from the mating amphibians was disturbing their rural peace. For generations, the frogs have croaked during the mating season in the garden of their house. However, after neighbours filed a legal complaint in 2012, a bailiff investigated and found that the frogs croaked at 63 decibels - the equivalent of the noise made by a washing machine or a vacuum cleaner.
Last modified on Thu 17 Dec 2020 06.55 EST
The French courts have had their final word: Grignols’
grenouilles (frogs) must go.
The frogs of a Dordogne village have been served notice after a judge decided they make so much noise during the mating season that they are a nuisance to the neighbours.
After nine years of legal battles, Michel and Annie Pécheras have been told they have 90 days to drain the 300 sq-metre pond at their home in the village of Grignols: population 587, and get rid of the amphibians.
Environmental campaigners say some of the frogs are protected species.
Michel Pécheras says he re-excavated the historic pond that had been filled in and moved it away from his neighbours’ property 12 years ago.