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FREE Hang bankers and seize land, urges mayor EXCLUSIVE by Mason Jones
RADICAL PLAN: Gordillo A COMMUNIST mayor who advocates ‘hanging bankers’ is leading the occupation of a village in protest over central government cuts. Controversial Marinaleda mayor Juan Manuel Sanchez Gordillo - dubbed Spain’s Robin Hood - insists his 400-strong following will not leave the land in the Cordoba hamlet of Moratalla until they are issued with an eviction order. The protest is part of a wider movement against cutbacks from Madrid, which has seen demonstrators march from Jodar, the town with the highest unemployment rate in Andalucia. Gordillo hopes the action will encourage other town halls to reject spending restrictions imposed on them. He told the Olive Press last night: “We, the people, have to pay for the debts the banks made. Turn to Page 7
Vol. 6 Issue 142
EXCLUSIVE by Wendy Williams A BRITISH family is demanding action after their ‘precious pug’ died while being transported between Spain and the UK. Dianne Lunt, 54, from Marbella, alerted the authorities after her daughter Amy’s beloved pet Wasabi allegedly collapsed from heat exhaustion and suffered a cardiac arrest while in the care of courier company Pet Taxi. The mother-of-three called in police after the dog failed to arrive at an address in Suffolk last week. The UK authorities are now investigating after it emerged that the Torre del Mar-based company was warned about its vehicles only three months ago. It is understood that up to seven other pets may have been temporarily handed to the RSPCA to care for after the van arrived in Dover, minus the body of Wasabi which was left in Calais. Lunt, who has lived in Spain
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August 23 - September 05, 2012
In the doghouse LOSS: Amy Lunt with her beloved late pug Wasabi
for 28 years, told the Olive Press: “I got a call from boss Jeremy Griffiths on Tuesday evening telling me he was dead. “He was unbelievably cold. I couldn’t speak. I was in shock.” She continued: “Wasabi was so loved and we were so careful about who we chose to take him home. “Jeremy assured us he and
Pet courier company under attack after dog dies from heat exhaustion en route to Calais his staff were all pet lovers and we trusted him. “Now the vet has confirmed he died of heat exhaustion, causing cardiac arrest. “I doubt my children can ever forgive me, but I do in-
Ever felt you are being cheated? In an eight-page special supplement, the Olive Press investigates the phenomenal success of TripAdvisor and its numerous flaws, and gets the views of those in the know across Andalucia. Turn to Page 21 for some surprising findings...
tend to stop it ever happening again.” Shockingly, another owner has also come forward to reveal that his golden retriever Dexter also died three years ago in similar circumstances. Roger Holdsworth, from La Mairena in Marbella, explained how a French vet told him Dexter had also died from ‘heat exhaustion’. “This is despite frequently contacting Pet Taxi for updates during the trip and always being reassured he was doing well,” he said. “You can imagine my horror when I heard he had collapsed and died. “We still feel his loss and are tormented by the circumstances of his death,” he added. Tellingly the new death comes just months after expat Alec Strathern also denounced Pet Taxi after
claiming the van his three dogs travelled in ‘was in a deplorable state’. “The air conditioning was broken and there were holes in the floor that we had to tape up to stop the exhaust fumes seeping in,” claims Strathern, who also travelled behind the van on the trip back to the UK. He was so angry he demanded the van be inspected by Defra when it arrived in Dover.
Condemned
“Defra condemned the vehicle and the lack of permits and only allowed us to continue the journey subject to a later vehicle inspection.” He added furiously: “I can’t believe the company has got away with it this long and is still taking orders.” Boss Griffiths however, denies the accusations and claims he is ‘mortified’ that Wasabi died in his care. “He was taken to the vets for a post-mortem as the cusTurn to Page 4