A Paget man has been ordered to comply and work with Department of Health officials in order to reduce the nuisance caused by pigs he keeps on his farm, avoiding a fine of up to $4,000.

After initially denying owning two pigs without a licence, causing a nuisance as the keeper of pigs and failing to put an end to the nuisance, Daniel Heaven, 39, later admitted the offences.

In Magistrates’ Court this morning, Heaven’s lawyer, Paul Wilson, said that while ignorance of the law was no excuse, his client was unaware of the proper licensing procedures involved in keeping pigs.

Mr Wilson said that the nature of keeping pigs combined with the topography of the farm means a certain amount of nuisance is inevitable. He added that since being charged, Heaven has worked with Department of Health officials in order to minimise the nuisance caused by the pigs, but the very nature of keeping pigs meant a certain amount of nuisance was inevitable.

Residents have complained of foul odours, noise and mosquitos arising from Mr Heaven’s pigs, said prosecutor Cindy Clarke in March.

However, Mr Wilson said that heavy rains during the time Heaven was charged had created a significant amount of standing water in the northeast corner of his Paget farm, where it borders neighbouring properties. Combined with the run-off from the pigs, said Mr Wilson, odours arose and mosquitos were able to breed.

In considering a sentence for Heaven, Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner said his pig farm “must be managed in such a way to create a minimum amount of nuisance”, and that “the run-off is always going to be a problem”.