Barely a day goes by without yet another of the local palms succumbing to the deadly Red Palm Beetle which has already claimed the lives of tens of thousands of Andalucia's trees.

In a recent press release the opposition councillors called into question the local government's handling of this issue and demanded to know what measures have been taken to combat the advance of this insect. Spokesman for the PSOE, Salvador Zotano, claimed the main reason for the loss of so many trees, particularly those at the Villa Matilde, Sabinllas church and La Colonia, has been "the apathy and disinterest of the IU and ASM coalition to tackle this problem".

 

In reply to these concerns the Town Hall assured the public that after the first appearance of this pest about a year ago, they took advice from the Junta de Andalucia's Environment Department and followed the course of action recommended which included the application of a parasitic worm which attacks the Red Palm Beetle (Picudo Rojo) as well as monthly spraying of the town's palm trees.

The councillor for Parks and Gardens, Mario Jimenez, pointed out that the most important course of action to prevent the spread is the immediate removal of infected trees, but unfortunately no money has been made available to effect this process.