Natural spaces going to the dogs

RESENTFUL residents of the Parque Clavero district in Malaga City have had a basinful of the perceived lack of council response to fly tipping in the neighbourhood, especially in a supposedly protected reserve which is home to the endangered Mediterranean chameleon.

“Ok, we are not the golden mile of Calle Larios, or the seafront promenade in Huelin, which was tremendously popular during the local election campaign, but we deserve a minimum of cleaning,” muttered one crabby citizen, adding that “in the chameleon habitat, which is supposed to be a protected environment, you can see the accumulated rubbish and the danger of all the broken glass bottles, among other picturesque things.”

On the other side of the city, ecologically-minded visitors to the Guadalhorce natural park, between Malaga and Torremolinos, are also cross as two sticks due to thickheaded dog owners allowing their dogs to run loose on a beach which is part of a protected bird reserve and where their presence is illegal.

Visitors to the reserve itself are no better, with one regular visitor bewailing the state of the footpaths in a “glorious place which is completely full of dog doo from the moment you enter until you leave,” before claiming that when asked to pick up their animals waste, owners do so, then leave the bag in the middle of the path in a one-fingered salute.

In recent weeks, parents have also been spotted allowing their children to fly drones and marching off marked trails to bring their bundles of joy closer to the many endangered bird species for which the wetland is a critical summer resource, leading to the unfortunate conclusion that the majority’s respect for the natural world has slumped to an alarmingly low ebb.