Stockholm officials who made the final decision to fell a beloved oak tree in the city centre have been issued with bodyguards because of threats made against them.
The so-called ‘TV oak’, which has stood outside the national broadcasting station’s offices for 500 years, was only chopped down last week despite demonstrations to keep it rooted.
According to SVT, which overlooks the site, many council workers have been issued with both panic alarms and personal security guards due to angry warnings received since the felling.
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“We’ve received some threats, that we’ve reported to the police and handed over to the security department,” Mats Freij, press officer at the traffic department, told Dagens Nyheter (DN) newspaper.
Most of the tree’s remains have now been burnt, but the biggest branches have found a new home in the baboon enclosure at Skansen Zoo.
“They’ve received it with great joy. They sit on it, jump around and gnaw. The bark is fresh and nice. The baboons have received it as a Christmas present,” Jonas Wahlström, head of the Skansen aquarium, told the Metro.