Simon Wade
THE mayor of Torrevieja has said that dogs will be banned from every beach in the town.
Eduardo Dolon’s controversial announcement means that previously dog-friendly beaches will no longer allow canines.
The only area dog-walkers can continue to take their pets will be the rocky area of Cala del Rocio, which has been labelled ‘dangerous’.
It comes after a petition two years ago, signed by 14,000 people, forced the creation of dog-friendly beaches.
Campaigners battled with the town’s authorities for three years, before the change.
The new controversy stems from the fact that Dolon had not made public the possibility that dogs would once again be banned from coastal areas.
The only seaside spot where dog-owners can exercise their pets is now south of the town, a small stretch of rocky coastline, only 1,670m2 in size, between Cala Ferris and Rocio del Mar.
The news was only published on June 5, in Torrevieja’s Official Gazette of the Province.
The document is signed by the general director of Urban Planning, Victor Costa Mazon, and refers to an April 21 decree from the mayor himself.
Meanwhile opposition parties are understood to have been left in the dark over the move.
There has also been no press release published by Town Hall officials.
The Olive Press spoke with British dog-lover, Michael Farriss, who said he was ‘outraged’ at the plans.
The expat from Plymouth, said: “After the lockdown, walking the dog is the only solace I get, so for the mayor to do this so secretly and without debate is out of order.”
“That stretch is Cala del Rocio isn’t even dog-friendly to start with, in fact I’d say it’s dangerous!”
That is because ex-pats let their disgusting dogs crap everywhere and off the lead. I see it every day. I am sick of looking at it. I got attacked by a nasty terrier the other day when I lay down for a stretch. Good.
There are more pressing social concerns than retired Brits’ obsession with dog walking on beaches. Walk them elsewhere and clean up the poo like any responsible world citizen.
It was Oscar Wilde who commented that, in England, “God” is spelled backwards. It appears that these canine obsessed English expats have imported this piece of England with them.