Court closes down farm over health breach

A farmer had his farm closed down and another forced to construct waterways after being found guilty of breaching health safety rules.

John Bezzina and his wife Violet, both 65, were ordered to construct waterways on the site of their farm within three months, to prevent dirt from seeping into public streets during the winter rains.

Magistrate Carol Peralta's courtroom today heard several cases brought by the Health Department over health regulation breaches.

The Bezzinas were accused of allowing water contaminated with manure to seep out of their farm into Maghtab public roads, as well as being charged with not disposing of animal manure as demanded by the health regulations.

John Bezzina told the court that the manure holes had been covered and waterways dug out to allow rainwater to proceed into the street, without being contaminated by the farm dirt. The magistrate gave him two weeks to clear up any manure left on the farm, on pain of a €50 daily fine.

In another case, Carmelo Bezzina, 61 of San Gwann, had his Maghtab farm closed down after it was found operating without a permit, back in 2002.

Bezzina ran a dairy farm without a permit from the public health superintendent, and had failed to attend various court sittings.

Arriving late for his hearing, Bezzina told the magistrate his children - also summoned for the hearing - were not interested in being present. "The two boys have their own farms, the elder daughter just got married, and the youngest doesn't want to be a farmer," Bezzina told the magistrate.

Magistrate Peralta angrily replied that it was not up to Bezzina's children to decide what happens in court. "You have been trying to take the authorities for a ride for 11 years, and the ride stops today," Peralta said, ordering the closure of Bezzina's farm.

Another man was charged with running an unlicensed farm. George Camilleri told the court he had inherited his father's farm, but the health authorities had refused the transfer of ownership because the farm was situated in the proximity of a residential farm, even though the Lands Department was still accepting the rent on the land.

Camilleri said that his son had been granted a permit for the production of goat's cheese, but that the health authorities had accused him of keeping livestock without a permit. The rural affairs ministry in the meantime had informed farmers their licenses would be renewed, even where farms were surrounded by residential areas.

Camilleri displayed a letter from an MRRA official saying the charges would be dropped, while defence lawyer Joe Brincat argued that an authority could not cancel a licence due to conditions not laid out in the licence at the time it was granted. "He clearly did his best to regularise his position, but the authorities are insisting on this case, despite his having been the heir of this land."

Magistrate Peralta put off the case to 11 February 2014 for judgement, and other cases postponed sine die after complaining that the health department had turned his hall "into a farm".