The new municipal administration has decided to have a close look at the mountain park, Pena (Peña) Escrita because of its daily running costs and accrued outstanding fines.

During the last local-election campaign, the park-cum-zoo was often referred to as a ‘bottomless pit’ as far as funding went, so it is no surprise that municipal inspectors have been sent up there on a fact-finding mission.

The veterinary report already points out that the zoo was set up with little planning and that many animals had been taken in when the installations were not really suitable for these creatures – one can imagine that he was referring to the hippopotamus, for example.

This veterinary report will be studied, together with the pending viability reports on the log cabins and the small cafe/bar within the installations.

The park, which covers 400 hectares and lies 11 kilometres from Torrecuevas, occupies the time of 10 municipal workers, who fit in their tasks up there with those down on the coast. They are tasked with looking after the animals and reforesting the area, amongst other obligations.

As if the daily running costs were not taxing enough on the municipal coffers, the park owes half a million euros in fines that were levied by the Department of the Environment for the Junta de Andalucia.

(News: Almunecar, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)