A Vegan Took Her Neighbours to the Supreme Court for Their Backyard Barbecues

Vegan woman Cilla Carden is very upset that her neighbours insist on barbecuing meats next door. The massage therapist from Girrawheen, in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, is convinced that the meaty smells wafting over her back fence are being generated specifically to spite her—apparently as part of some malicious attack on her decision to not eat animals.

"It's deliberate," she told Nine. "They've put it so I smell fish. All I can smell is fish. I can't enjoy my backyard; I can't go out there."

Cilla the vegan was so disgruntled by her neighbours’ penchant for grilling seafood outdoors that she took them to the Supreme Court, claiming the odours have affected her quality of life. In a legal saga that’s dragged on for the past two years, Cilla also complained about the smell of cigarette smoke, chairs scraping on concrete, reflective light, and the sounds of children playing basketball. “It's been devastating, it's been turmoil, it's been unrest, I haven't been able to sleep,” she said. "It's deliberate. That's what I told the courts: it’s deliberate."

Both the Supreme Court and the Western Australian administrative tribunal threw out Cilla’s complaints. Last month, Supreme court chief justice Peter Quinlan also dismissed her request to appeal the decision, according to The Guardian.

“Ms Carden was given a fair opportunity to present her case, and the learned tribunal member conducted the proceedings fairly and appropriately,” the judgment said. In an official statement, one neighbour further noted that “Ms Carden’s demands were proven to be not reasonable and indeed were to the detriment of the other owners’ ability to enjoy their lots in a reasonable and acceptable manner.” Another neighbour said that he removed his barbecue from his backyard following her complaints.

Cilla is considering further potential legal action.

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