Sarroch: eighteen cork oaks felled, fined by the Forestry Department

Eighteen cork trees felled , a fine of almost two thousand euros each for the company that owns the land and for those who carried out the work : a devastation in the countryside of Sarroch, where oak trees were cut down on private land without any authorisation.

The trees were cut down next to the land where the velodrome is located , which belongs to a restaurant company in Tonara. According to investigations conducted by the Forestry Corps agents of the Pula station, the felling of the trees would have served to make room for the expansion of the premises of the cooking center.

Luckily, some centuries-old oak trees escaped the felling, but others, which had been present in that land for many decades, were cut down.

It was some citizens who reported the wild cutting of cork trees to the municipal administration, outraged by what was happening .

Luca Tolu, councilor for the Environment, reconstructs the event: «It is private land, but there is a law from 1994 that regulates the cutting of these trees . What has been done is a massacre, almost twenty trees of all sizes have been eliminated to make room for work to expand the cooking areas: the situation was immediately reported by our Barracellare company to the Forestry Corps».

Alessio Girau, commander of the town's barracellare company, speaks of a devastation: «Seeing those trees cut down was a great disappointment, the law is quite clear, cutting down cork oaks without authorization is not permitted, which is why both the company that owns the land and the person who cut them were fined».

In the City Council, the indignation over the felling of the oaks is unanimous. Mirko Spiga, group leader of “Noi per Sarroch”, explains how the fine alone is too small a punishment for such a devastation: «We were shocked, what happened is unacceptable. The fine is not enough, whoever eliminated those trees should be forced to plant new ones, the message cannot be conveyed that everyone is free to act in such a reckless manner just because they own the land».

Even the mayor, Angelo Dessì, is embittered by the cutting of the cork oaks from the land bordering the velodrome: «We are starting a reforestation project to give this town a greener future, it is sad to note that not everyone has the same sensitivity».