The Rural Agents have installed surveillance cameras in protected areas of Lleida to try to identify the perpetrators of vandalism against environmental signage. The measure affects points such as Secans del Segrià, Utxesa, or the Mas de Melons reserve, where about twenty information signs have appeared destroyed in recent months.
The decision comes after the agents have not been able to detect or report any offenders so far. This lack of results has led to the placement of cameras in strategic points as the only way that those responsible for the operation consider effective to identify the perpetrators of the damage.
The Rural Agents have not been able to report any offenders
The sequence repeats every time a damaged sign appears. The Rural Agents notify those responsible for the protected area to replace the sign, or the management entities themselves alert of the damage and the agents draw up an official report.
In this context, surveillance has been reinforced in enclaves where attacks have affected public use environmental facilities. Among the highlighted areas are Secans del Segrià, Utxesa, and Mas de Melons, all of which have been subjected to episodes of sign destruction in recent months.
So far, about twenty signs have been destroyed in these protected areas of Lleida. The placement of cameras seeks to obtain images that allow the identification of those responsible in specific places where the damage is repeated.
The installation of cameras led to a complaint from Unió de Pagesos in April
The use of these devices already generated controversy in the spring. In April, Unió de Pagesos denounced the installation of a trap camera in Mas de Melons and maintained that this type of device should be used for wildlife control and not for surveillance of people.
The Rural Agents responded then that, in addition to the cameras installed by the corps itself, there are other devices located in different points whose origin they do not know. This element added uncertainty about which systems were operational in the area and for what purpose.
During these months, moreover, the corps intensifies surveillance in the natural environment due to the monitoring of the capercaillie, a bird in danger of extinction. This reinforcement coincides with spring, when agents increase their presence and control over environmentally sensitive areas.
The complaint by Unió de Pagesos occurred in April due to a camera trap placed in Mas de Melons, while the Rural Agents maintained reinforced monitoring of the capercaillie in parallel during the spring.