Save the street dogs of Morocco!
- islandpuproo
- Jan 31
- 5 min read
Updated: Feb 2
Hoping to raise awareness for the street dogs in Morocco during these dark times.
Like their life isn't already hard enough, the government are now killing thousands of innocent dogs for no good reason.
I visited Morocco in May of 2024 and had the chance to meet many of the local loving street dogs. Gentle dogs with soft souls. I only visited for 10 days and other than spending a few nights in Marrakech, I spent most of my time in the Tagazout region which is where I met the majority of dogs during my short stay. Every single dog i met was so gentle and kind, respectful and sweet.
It was warming to see many street dogs being accepted and fed by locals, the dogs were even welcome to relax under the shade of the tables in cafes! Although many dogs seem to be tagged (meaning they have been vaccinated and treated by local shelters) and well cared for within the local community, it didn't go unnoticed that there were still many who were not doing so well. Possibly the ones who didn't feel confident to interact with humans potentially due to previous bad experiences.
It was clear to me that without humans, these dogs would have very little to eat. The more rural we travelled into dessert regions, with less local and tourist activity, the dogs were much thinner and clearly in need of more resources to survive.
It's difficult because there are likely many people who want to do more, yet unfortunately do not have the funds to feed so many, or to get them neutered & spayed protecting them against having more puppies prone to a life of suffering and continuing the cycle.
Knowing I was not in Morocco for long, i'd done my research and realised that bringing a dog home from Morocco is a long process and would not be as straight forward as bringing Roo home from Barbados. Due to different rules and regulations it was unfortunately not an option for me this time. I'd also looked up local rescue centers which were clearly running at maximum capacity, and it's not just in Morocco, it's a world wide issue which needs to be resolved.. and the crazy thing is, like most things, if there was money to fix the problem, it would easily be fixed!
With the problem being currently to big for me to fix on my own, I did my bit, which was feeding every street dog i met in need.. Every time we ate out, I would ask the staff for a box to put my leftovers in for the dogs, and to my surprise, they would offer to do it for me and add even more leftovers from the kitchen. Hungry dogs are not fussy and any food is better than no food! This simple act of kindness made me realise that if everybody had this mind set, all the local dogs would be fed and cared for regardless of whether they had a 'home' or not.
I met and spent time with so many lovely dogs including this gentle mumma raising a litter of puppies in the dessert on the coast. She seemed to rely on locals and tourists who visited the surf spot and gave her food. Her puppies looked nice and chunky however she looked exhuasted. We went back multiple times during our stay to bring her and the pups nutritous food which they were all so grateful for. After a couple of visits the puppies would recognise my voice and come out wiggling with excitement.. These sweet, social creatures are just doing their best to survive in a harsh world, it's not their fault they're here and hungry with babies to feed..
The most frustraiting aspect of this horrendus situation is, that it's down to human neglagence. Generations of people breeding dogs for their personal gain and then abandoning their non deserving companions at no fault of their own.. over the years this has resulted in a huge population of unwanted dogs living amongst local communities which are continuously reproducing more puppies into a world where they are at no fault of their own, in most cases un accepted and unwanted.
Although dogs are capable of living happy and healthy lives on their own, unlike other species of animal, dogs have been so extremely domesticaited and rely heavily on humans for companionship and resources. Not only that, due to dogs being so heavily domesticated, I don't believe they have as many rights as wild animals. Unlike other animal species, if dogs are known to be 'without an owner' they are at risk of being caught, put into a shelter and/or euthanised.. This is currently the reality for 'untagged' dogs in Morocco and recently Turkey.
Instead of respecting the lives of other creatures we share this planet with and working to positively resolve the issue, by investing in local communities and shelters to sterilise street dogs.. The Moroccan government has instead decided to end the lives of these sweet, innocent local stray dog population.
The Moroccan government is currently responsible for brutally killing thousands, soon to be millions of innocent street dogs ahead of the 2030 Fifa world cup. They are responsible for publicly poisoning, shooting and inhumanely collecting innocent dogs to kill. It not only breaks my heart, but I struggle to get my head around how in this modern day, people are participating in such unethical, inhumane, and disgusting acts. Instead of putting the effort and resources into resolving the issue, the government must have decided it's quicker, easier and more cost effective to cull the four-legged community rather than invest in it... let that sink in!
The attempt to "clean up" the country ahead of the 2030 Fifa world cup is truly awful and should not be happening. Although dogs are suffering globally, what the Moroccan government is currently doing is outrageous and needs to be stopped.
This issue is widely spread on social media and I don't believe that Fifa cannot have been made aware of what is happening. I urge you to do your own research if you haven't already and support the local dogs of Morocco in any way you can!
Raising awareness and sharing experiences is so important, because spreading the word helps to inform others about what is happening and inspire people to support the cause and make a difference. Whether thats directly donating to local shelters, adopting rather than shopping or being kind when you can.. every little helps!
Dogs are such social, kind, intelligent and loving creatures, they are here because of us and deserve to be respected and protected. Even if that does mean investing into sterilising to help manage the population, this is a much more fair and humane way to deal with the problem.
If you'd like to help and directly support the Moroccan street dogs, I've added a list of recommended local shelters below who are working hard and doing their very best to help the majestic dogs of Morocco in every way possible!
Shout out to Pancho! A moroccan dog who's now living his best life with his loving pawrent Lori! Follow their journey on Instagram! - @panchoandlori
@beldi.leeny - @beldi.rescue
@sunshine_animal_refuge_agadir
@latribudes4pattesmaroc
@moroccoanimalaid
@imson2eproject
@nos_amis_pour_la_vie
@animalsanctuary_tangier
Click the button below to watch a vlog i've put together of the local dogs I met in Morocco so that if you haven't already, you can meet them yourself and see how truly sweet they are!
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