The director of the Desert de les Palmes natural park, Toni García, presented his version of recent events yesterday, framing the narrative around a long-standing project he proposed and defended in 2021. This came after García testified at the preliminary hearing of a criminal case in which he is the sole defendant in relation to the death of donkeys connected to a failed firefighting effort. He reiterated his stance that a boycott was a key factor in the animals’ deaths, outlining a line of reasoning that aligns with his broader plan for the park and its management strategy.
As before the magistrate, García defended the boycott thesis while also taking aim at Agriculture Minister Mireia Mollà, accusing her of attempting to solve the issue by targeting his leadership. He suggested that Mollà was accusing him personally as a stand-in for broader departmental failings. In response, the minister expressed that she felt personally insulted by the director and emphasized the importance of safeguarding her professional reputation against what she described as attacks that crossed a line into personal remarks. She asserted that her ministry had not only provided leadership but also protected the integrity of its processes in the face of heated accusations.
During the proceedings, García argued that the claims against him were part of a broader political struggle and a public relations maneuver. He contended that the allegations were used to divert attention from what he called the real internal faults within the department. He framed the situation as a conflict where some parties sought to manipulate perceptions to satisfy individual egos and to conceal missteps within the park’s administration. He asserted that if there had been no intervention, the animals would have fared better and that the situation pointed to sabotage he believed began soon after the donkeys arrived on land segregated for the project. From the ministry’s perspective, García described the day’s events as an attempt to rationalize the inexplicable and to anchor blame on the park manager as a focal point of responsibility.
When pressed about why he thought authorities, including the Civil Guard, were focusing on him, García maintained that Seprona’s inquiry had centered on the absence of a nutrition study. He argued that such a study was not essential for a scenario in which a farmer and a veterinarian were already managing the animals on site, implying that the severity of the situation could be understood without additional formal testing. The minister’s office, according to García, would have benefited from considering the broader context rather than singling out his role alone. He remained convinced that the events warranted a deeper examination that would reveal systemic responses rather than personal culpability.
abandonment of animals
The central element of the criminal complaint against the park’s director rests on the alleged neglect of the animals under his oversight within a project he championed. García reaffirmed that he and the on-site rancher did not neglect the creatures, arguing that the administrative and daily care routines were being carried out as required. Nevertheless, the Ministry has maintained that the animals did not receive appropriate treatment, their deaths were not promptly reported, and there was no veterinary inspection recorded along the way. There was also no documented action taken regarding the remains once the animals were no longer alive. The discrepancy between García’s defense and the ministry’s account underscores a clash over responsibility, oversight, and the standards applied to animal welfare in the context of a high-profile conservation effort.