The mulberry trees on the seafront were intentionally dried out and left to die
Águilas’s Councillor for Green Areas, José Luis Moreno, stated, “Three adult specimens have been deliberately attacked and as a consequence they have dried up.”
Town Hall sources went on to specify that “the intentionality of the act is more than evident in the visible holes made in the trunk of the affected specimens, for which nothing can be done as they are completely dry. The person or persons who carried out what, in the words of the councillor, is ‘a cruel act against a living being’, after drilling holes in the trunks of the trees, have introduced petrol or some kind of acid into the trunks until the trees have been killed.”
This is a criminal offence and has been reported to the police. The Town Council has given no indication of why anyone might have gone to such lengths to kill off the trees.
Águilas Council was very keen on the mulberry trees as they “gave shade, lowered the temperature, provided oxygen and, furthermore, were an attraction for the area’s hotels and restaurants, as they allowed them to offer a terrace service under magnificent weather conditions”. For all these reasons, the councillor said that “they will soon be replaced and surveillance in the area will be increased”, pointing to the installation of security cameras to the tune of 9,000 euros to try and dissuade similar acts of vandalism in the future.
Moreno concluded by saying, “The right to the use and enjoyment of public space must always be above private interests and only by implementing measures against climate change will we be able to cushion it.”
Image: Ayuntamiento de Águilas
