Voted Best
26 July - 1 August 2018
COSTA DE ALMERÍA YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE, YOUR OPINION CREDIT: Guardia Civil
ISSUE NO. 1725
Newspaper in Spain 2017 & 2018
FREE BENJI: Benjamin will be tracked by academics in Valencia.
Swimming home by Joe Gerrard A GUARDIA CIVIL patrol boat has taken a loggerhead turtle out into the sea off the Cabo de Gata area to release it back into the wild. The turtle, named Benjamin, has been recovering at the Almeria-based Equinac animal centre for the past two years. Marine workers have mounted a satellite tracker to the top of his shell so his movements can be
monitored. He was previously found injured and had to have one of his front fins surgically removed. Equinac said in a statement they were grateful to the Guardia Civil for the co-operation in helping Benjamin return home. “We do not have enough words to thank the Guardia Civil with. It’s been amazing to count on them again,” the group said. “The signal is telling us that Benjamin is still in the
area at the moment,” they added. The tracker was made in the United States and was financed with money from the Polytechnic University of Valencia. The monitor cost around €2,000 with a €130 a month charge for the satellite subscription. Researche s i n Va l e n c i a a r e s e t t o t r a c k B e n j a m i n ’s m o v e ments for around three years after which time the device is designed to naturally fall off.
The Spanish government a n d t h e Wo r l d Wi l d l i f e Foundation classes loggerhead turtles as a vulnerable species on their lists of endangered animals. Vulnerable status falls between ‘near threatened’ and ‘endangered’ and means the species faces a ‘high risk’ of extinction in the wild. Equinac said the main threats to animals such as loggerhead turtles were plastics and fishing nets, with thousands accidentally caught every year.
WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM
Police staff claims A TRADE UNION representing National Police officers in Almeria claimed the number of personnel in the province has decreased despite force bosses stating 100 reinforcements had been sent there. Raimundo Morales, provincial secretary for the Federal Union of Police (UFP) in Almeria, said he and his colleagues considered staffing levels to be “critical.” The National Police said there were currently more than 100 extra officers in the province. These included two dog squads with four animals, four inspectors and 34 personnel rotating between units all of which have been brought in for the summer, they added. Morales said the ongoing
migrant situation was placing a strain on the current number of officers and he has called for an extra 50 personnel at least. Morales added his claims that numbers had fallen was due to office-based staff retiring and reinforcements being used to fill their places. Police sources said some 15 officers from Malaga would remain in Almeria until December to help forces in the province deal with the migrant situation.