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Surfs Pup! Barcelona opens its first dog-friendly beach

After years of campaigning, Barcelona city authorities finally opened a designated dog-friendly area of the beach.

Surfs Pup! Barcelona opens its first dog-friendly beach
One end of Barcelona's city beach has been given over to dogs. Photo: Nathan Rupert / Flickr

A fenced off area at the far end of the city’s long stretch of sandy beach has been fenced off specifically to allow our four-legged friends the freedom to run over the sand and leap through the waves.

Measuring just 1,250 square meters the area has been equipped with state-of-the-art dog urinals, fountains for dogs to drink from, and specially adapted showers to rinse off the salty seawater and sand off canine coats.

Opened this week, it will be available until September 25th under a pilot scheme that could be extended next summer.

“This space was chosen with specific technical criteria months ago, when we decided to respond to the historic requests by dog owners,” said Eva Herrero, the Ecology Commissioner for Barcelona.

The zone, located at the furthest end of the 4.5km long Levant beach, is limited to one hundred dogs and owners are expected to keep control of their pets and scoop up after them.

READ MORE: How to find dog friendly beaches in Spain

But the pilot scheme was not popular with some locals who complain that there are insufficient resources to ensure dogs are kept under control and will not venture onto other parts of the beach or bother bathers. 

Others claimed the designated zone was clearly not enough to cater for a city that has at least 41,000 dogs registered although animal charities admitted that it was “a start”.

“It’s not a very big space,” said Anna Bayle the Barcelona spokesman for Pacma, Spain’s animal rights party. “The few dogs allowed in will be somewhat confined”.

Most beaches impose strict restrictions against dogs and impose hefty fines and only a very few allow dogs in the summer months. A new interactive map helps owners locate dog-friendly beaches.

 

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Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Tuesday 

Find out what’s going on in Norway on Tuesday with The Local’s short roundup of important news. 

Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Tuesday 
Oslo Operahus. Photo by Arvid Malde on Unsplash

Child’s body washed ashore identified 

The body of a 15-month old boy who washed ashore near Karmøy in southwest Norway has been identified as that of a child named Artin, who died alongside his relatives while attempting to cross the Channel from France into the United Kingdom. 

Artin’s body was found on New Year’s Day more than two months after the vessel carrying the rest of his family sank. The boat was carrying around 20 refugees in total. 

“We didn’t have a missing baby reported in Norway, and no family had contacted the police,” Camilla Tjelle Waage, the head of police investigations, told BBC News.  

Artin had a relative in Norway that allowed forensic scientists at Oslo University Hospital to match the DNA profiles of him and the relative to confirm his identity. 

“This has been a painstaking process, but we are pleased we have now received confirmation that this is the missing boy who was found on Karmøy. This story is tragic, but then it is at least good to give his surviving relatives an answer,” Waage said in a statement. 

READ ALSO: Body found in Oslo flat nine years after death 

His remaining family have been notified, and his remains are to be flown back to Iran to be buried. 

Six out of seven Norwegian dog breeds facing extinction 

Only one of Norway’s seven native dog breeds is not threatened with extinction. The other six are facing extinction, despite ten years of efforts to try and revive the breeds. 

The only Norwegian dog breed not in danger of disappearing is the Grey Norwegian Elkhound. 

“We are the country of origin of these dogs, and we have a special responsibility to the UN to preserve these dogs,” Odd Vangen, professor of livestock breeding and genetics at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), told state broadcaster NRK.

The dog breeds endangered are the Hygen Hound, Norwegian Bunhund, Black Norwegian Elkhound, Norwegian Dunker, Norwegian Puffin Hound and the Halden Hound. 

According to Vangen, these dogs are facing extinction because they are working dogs and not bred for companionship. Many of the breeds are bred for hunting, but populations are dwindling due to a lack of hunters and hunting areas. 

NIPH ditches test concerts 

The Norwegian Institute of Public Health has dropped its proposed test concert scheme after Oslo City Council said it would not host any events. 

“It is not worth carrying the concerts out if the only place we can host them in Bergen. The project is dead and buried,” Atle Fretheim, project manager for the scheme, told paper Bergens Tidende

The government had initially given the test concerts the go-ahead at the end of May to research whether rapid testing of the public could reduce the risk of infection. 

249 Covid-19 cases in Norway 

On Monday, 249 new coronavirus cases were recorded in Norway, a decrease of 36 compared to the seven day average of 286. 

In Oslo, 66 new cases of infection were registered, 19 fewer infections than the seven-day average. 

The R-number or reproduction rate in Norway is currently 1.0. This means that every ten people that are infected will, on average, only infect another ten people, indicating that the infection level is stable. 

Total number of Covid-19 cases so far. Source: NIPH
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