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THIS “STUPID AND SENSELESS” VANDALISM HAS TO STOP NOW! Campaigners denounce more violations of Canary’s protected landscape
Photos courtesy of Telesforo Bravo-Juan Coello Foundation
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ONSERVATIONISTS in the Canary Islands have again slammed sightseers for defacing protected landscape with “stupid” acts of vandalism and destroying natural spaces and say it has to stop NOW! The latest violation involves the creation of huge stone circles and triangles which have appeared in Fuerteventura whilst in Tenerife, an entire sitting room complete with armchairs and coffee tables was discovered on a nature reserve right next to the sea! The incidents follow on from a number of previous incidents which include names and love messages scrawled on the famous sand dunes in Maspalomas in the south of Gran Canaria, as well as in the shadow of Tenerife’s Mount Teide vol-
cano and protected natural parks. Police have also found huge stone crosses made from the volcanic stones, stone circles, carvings in the ground, graffiti on stones, giant hearts and even faces carved into the rocks as in Hollywood. All the actions are illegal and are punishable with fines and even prison if the culprits are caught. The campaigning group Telesforo Bravo-Juan Coello Foundation has been inundated with photos and messages on its social net-
work, alerting the experts to the damage which is being caused to the environment and backing its campaign for tougher action. They say love messages in the Maspalomas sand dunes, together with dozens of footprints and initials, are so huge that they are visible from space in pictures taken by Google maps and have affected the landscape. Environmentalists believe tourists are mainly to blame as they are taking selfies with their “works of art” . The Foundation says the stone circles could be linked to rituals but are probably stupid acts of random vandalism. “They are being committed without respect or knowledge about our natural environment, landscape and heritage, “ said
a spokesman for the group. The Foundation says this is “abuse to the environment” and is launching an educational campaign first before calling for increased sanctions and more patrols. Furious supporters of the group say visitors arriving at the airports in the Canaries should be given leaflets warning against such damage instead of tourist maps of the island. Another suggestion is to hand them information on the flights half an hour before landing. In Tenerife, the island’s government says it won’t tolerate such damage in its protected parks, including around the Teide volcano, and is reporting all incidents to the police. They say culprits will be fined up to
600 euros as well as being told to pay the cost of the restoration work. “The Cabildo of Tenerife wants to express its condemnation towards this type of act against one of the main environmental and tourist patrimonies of the island. It also appreciates the collaboration of citizens and points
out the importance of notifying the staff of the Teide National Park in case of witnessing this type of incident indicating the location as accurately as possible to act and take appropriate measures,” said a spokesman.