Salisbury, N.B. family to give up horses after judge denies judicial review

A Salisbury, N.B., family is being forced to give up their horses after a longstanding battle with the village council, leading to a court ruling.

Gerrie and Jan Dangremond, who kept their two horses on their property following council orders to remove them, are left with few options.

The battle started in the summer of 2016.

READ MORE: Salisbury, N.B. family given two weeks notice to find horses a new home

Shortly after purchasing a five-and-a-half acre lot in Salisbury, the Dangremond’s were told they needed to have a permit to construct fencing, which was already in the works, on their property.

But things took a turn for the worse for the family, who was then told the horses had to be removed from the residential property.

“We filed a judicial review in response to the decision of the council, which, as a body, decided that the horses had to be removed,” says lawyer Brian Murphy.

“I have grave doubts that a judicial review is appropriate for a denied zone change application,” says Justice George Rideout in a written ruling handed down this week.

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The decision goes on to say, “In my opinion, what was done by the Village of Salisbury was procedurally fair and reasonable in the circumstances.”

Valerie Dangremond, a daughter to Gerrie and Jan, says it’s not easy.

“Horses have always been a part of my life when I was younger,” she says. “They mean everything to me.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Horses have always been a part of my life when I was younger," she says. "They mean everything to me."

WATCH: N.B. family gets high-profile support from former MP in fight to keep horses

2:13 New Brunswick family gets high profile support from former MP in fight to keep horses

In a statement to Global News, Salisbury Mayor Terry Keating says it’s a matter of following rules, and doesn’t have anything to with the family.

“I want to stress that this has never been a personal matter directed at the owners of the property.”

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“I appreciate that we are only talking about two horses in this case,” the statement reads. “But how do we tell the next applicants who want to have livestock that they cannot have them if we have already made an exception?”

Lawyer Stephen Trueman, who represented the village in court, tells Global News the family has less than 30 days to have the horses removed.

But Murphy says there could be further discussions relating to an appeal of the decision.

“There aren’t supposed to be many, many, many private meetings behind closed doors, pre-judging this issue, which we believe was the case,” says Murphy. “Therefore, we think it was a breach of natural justice.”