The house in Triq San Frangisk, Marsa. Photo: Jason Borg

A man who had a veritable animal sanctuary in his Marsa home – consisting of 25 cats and 12 dogs – was yesterday ordered to keep them somewhere else after a court ruled that the stench and constant barking was a nuisance to his neighbours.

Agostino Borg, 53, was also fined €100 for discarding garbage in the street and failing to stop his pets from annoying his neighbours. He was, however, cleared of breaching the peace. The court said he had allowed the situation to degenerate to the extent that his neighbours could not open their windows for the smell of excrement.

The police first started looking into the case a year ago, when they received several complaints from residents of Triq San Frangisk saying the constant barking was keeping them awake at night, Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras heard.

The police paid a visit at night and they could hear the barking from 100 metres away. The noise got so loud in front of the house that the police could not even hear each other speaking.

The neighbours testified they could not bear the noise and smell. They also claimed that Mr Borg was doing this to spite them – he had even named the animals after them.

They said from around 4.30am, the accused could be heard shouting and swearing at the animals, “waking the whole street up”.

A senior officer from the Animal Welfare Department testified that the animals were all taken care of and that their state of cleanliness was of the required standard.

The noise got so loud in front of the house that the police could not even hear each other speaking

On the stench, the officials said it was not bad, considering the number of animals in the residence.

However, the court felt there was no reason not to believe the testimony of the neighbours.

While expressing admiration for Mr Borg’s efforts to get the animals off the streets, Magistrate Galea Sciberras said she could not ignore the inconvenience they were causing. She therefore fined him €100 and ordered that the animals be removed from the residence within three months.

She also recommended that the Commissioner for Animals help Mr Borg find suitable alternative accommodation for them.

Lawyer Marion Camilleri appeared for Mr Borg, while lawyer Joe Mifsud represented some 15 residents, who had filed the complaint against Mr Borg collectively.