Jodie Marsh granted new primate licence by council

Former glamour model Jodie Marsh has been granted a primate licence following her drawn-out legal victory over the local council last year.

Jodie Marsh will be able to keep 12 marmosets at her rescue centre at Fripps Farm in Lindsell, near Great Dunmow, Essex.

She took Uttlesford District Council to court when it previously refused to grant a wild animal licence, meaning she could not legally adopt eight ring-tailed lemurs, but she won her case in June.

Marsh said she was "elated" and "completely over the moon" after Uttlesford District Council approved her latest application.

"I knew we would get the licence because we'd done everything correctly," she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"With the new primate law coming into effect, many people won't be able to keep their marmosets, and thousands will need homes

"It is so crucial that those of us who can, do have the licence, so we can rescue more if needed."

The Animal Welfare (Primate Licences) (England) Regulations 2024 introduced a licensing regime to protect the welfare of primates kept in England.

The council confirmed that Marsh's primate licence was effective from 6 April, until 5 April 2029.

She said the new regulations were "higher than zoo standards" and feared many small monkeys could be put down or abandoned if their owners were unable to get a new licence.

Marsh rose to fame in the ITV series Essex Wives in 2002 and became a regular face in the tabloid newspapers.

Alpacas, emus and reptiles are among the animals she keeps at the private 3.5-acre (1.4-hectare) Fripps Farm, which she founded in 2020 and used OnlyFans to partly fund.

On Friday, she appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court accused of assaulting a man at the farm in January.

She pleaded not guilty and is due to go on trial in May 2027.

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