Coat of arms of the Canary Islands

Coat of arms of the Canary Islands
Details
Escutcheon	Seven grey islands represent the Canary Islands.
Supporters	Dogs, (Presa Canario)

The coat of arms of the Canary Islands is the central device of the flag of the Canary Islands. It reads "Oceano". The designs were made official by the Statute of Autonomy of the Canarian Autonomous Community (Organic Law 10/82) on 10 August 1982.^[1]

The coat of arms displays on top the Spanish royal crown. The seven gray islands represent the Canary Islands of volcanic origin in the Atlantic Ocean. The supporters are dogs from which the islands may derive their name, possibly from the Latin term Insula Canaria, meaning Island of the Dogs,^[2] a name applied originally only to the island of Gran Canaria. It is thought that the dense population of an endemic breed of large and fierce dogs, like the Presa Canario, was the characteristic that most struck the few ancient Romans who established contact with the islands by the sea.

Controversy over the dogs

In recent times there has been a controversy^[3] over the representation of the can (Presa Canario) in the shield. This fact, motivated in part to the Government of Canary Islands has abolished the two dogs in the official forms and public buildings, although they have been kept in the Coat of arms of Canary Islands.^[4]

Popularly attributed the Canary Islands name is derived from the Presa Canario,^[5] although under a law in force Government of Canary Islands since 1991, the dog can is the natural symbol of Gran Canaria along with the cactus.^[6] For this reason among critics of the current shield it is argued that only represent the island of Gran Canaria and not the entire archipelago.

There has also been a motion to remove both animals necklace, as it is argued (especially since independence fields) which refers to the idea that the collars have a meaning of "submission".^[7]

References