Even vaccinated, tagged dogs are not being spared by Moroccan authorities.
Credit: SPA du Maroc Facebook page
Morocco’s streets are turning into a war zone for stray dogs.
As the North African country prepares to co-host the 2030 FIFA World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal, horrifying reports are emerging. Stray dogs are reportedly being shot, poisoned, and even incinerated alive.
Animal protection organisations are talking about a “state-led extermination campaign,” saying that Morocco is executing a “cleanup operation” to present a polished image to the world. All at the cost of thousands of innocent lives.
“Like Auschwitz for dogs”
The Moroccan Society for the Protection of Animals (SPA du Maroc) has even made disturbing comparisons to Nazi concentration camps.
This is how they are describing the facilities where dogs are burnt alive due to a lack of poison or time.
“They are doing exactly what Hitler did to the Jews. They trap the dogs in vans, many die in transit or are incinerated once they arrive,” a spokesperson told journalists, according to El Mundo.
And since FIFA’s October 2023 announcement that Morocco would help host the 2030 tournament, the pace of killings has risen.
Heartbreaking stories across Morocco
“This is mass extermination disguised as public health,” warned the International Animal Welfare Protection Coalition (IAWPC).
They’re saying that even vaccinated, tagged dogs are not being spared by Moroccan authorities.
Heartbreaking stories are emerging from across the country. In Ifrane, a teenager described walking past pools of blood on her way to school. In a nearby city, a beloved neighbourhood husky was found shot and dumped in a trash bin, according to CNN.
It’s not a surprise that many children are left traumatised and terrified by these kinds of killings, say animal protection groups.
How are Moroccan officials justifying their actions?
Morocco has had the TNVR programme (Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return) since 2019. It is an internationally recognised and humane method to control stray populations.
Costing about €60 per dog, it works. In fact, Rabat has successfully implemented it. Yet, the government has failed to roll it out nationwide.
Why this? Local activists say money, corruption, and image control are to blame.
Officials justify the killings by citing rabies concerns, but experts call this a lie. Rabies kills about 50 people annually in Morocco, out of 60,000 worldwide. It’s 100 per cent preventable with vaccines, yet education and access are lacking, especially in rural areas.
“When they want to kill a dog, they just say it has rabies,” says SPA’s president, Ali Izddine.
Chaos, bullets and FIFA protests
The chaos in Morocco has even injured some people. In January, a barista in Ben Ahmed was shot by a stray bullet as municipal agents chased a dog through the streets.
Three bullets missed the animal, but hit him in the leg and thigh. He survived. The dog did not.
Famed conservationist Jane Goodall wrote to FIFA, demanding they step in. Activists have staged protests at matches (including at the FIFA Club World Cup in the US) and thousands of people have already signed petitions calling for Morocco to stop the slaughter.
The pressure is growing, but FIFA has yet to take meaningful action.
Animal defenders say it’s time for football’s governing body to stand up for its values. “The world is watching,” one protestor said.
But until FIFA opens its eyes, Morocco’s dogs remain in danger.
