“Damn!”, the man may have thought when the notification fluttered into the property the other day. On the other hand, he is a farmer and therefore knows for sure that the excrement of his livestock would have to be mixed with straw for a real manure. Without straw it’s not rubbish, but something else, which he could have said well in view of the decision. If the mass excreted by the cattle forms a flat shape when it hits the ground, there is also a technical term for it, namely “cow patties”. Such cakes are said to have paved the way that the farmer’s cows traveled from the pasture to the milking machine on May 12 of this year. Whereby this path through the Upper Bavarian town of Pähl even consists of a state road. However, the municipality is responsible, and they sent the farmer the very same notice with which they demanded a fine of 100 euros plus 25 euros procedural fee plus 3.50 euros for delivery for violating their “Ordinance on the Cleanliness and Cleaning of Public Streets”. .
The letter from the town hall was apparently not the first, and there have probably been more complaints like the one that ultimately led to the decision. Mayor Werner Grünbauer is a farmer himself and also knows what is rubbish and what is not. But he doesn’t shy away from other expressions either and told the German Press Agency that this time the complainant “wouldn’t have got out of the street at all without stepping in the shit”. This time, the whole flatbread case also ended up one floor up on a desk in the Weilheim district office, “and the higher authority asked us to act.” So fine plus fees: 128.50 euros.
For example, the farmer could have parked in a fire brigade driveway and obstructed an emergency vehicle with the money, which would have earned him a point in Flensburg. Compared to his most recent investment, however, the amount is unlikely to matter. Because a few days ago his cows moved into their brand new pen. He no longer has to drive them out to pasture. But the complaint and decision had already made their way down the state road, including the “risk of repetition” as a reason. Damn.