Animal rights activists rallied in Rabat on Saturday to demand a ban on the slaughter of stray dogs, while the authorities promised to manage the practice more humanely.
“Stop killing street animals,” yelled the small crowd assembled outside Parliament at the request of the Moroccan Society for the Protection of Animals (SPAM), as part of an international protest campaign. “We want an immediate halt to the slaughter of street dogs,” said SPAM President Ali Izzdine. “We are also asking parliamentarians to pass an animal protection law.”
According to SPAM’s president, the TNVR (Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate, Return) program, which includes “capture, sterilization, rabies vaccination, and identification” of stray dogs, should be implemented.
The Interior Ministry notified local media on the eve of the sit-in that it had previously taken steps to encourage communes to avoid using firearms and harmful substances to exterminate stray dogs in order to prevent abuse and lessen animal suffering.
Morocco inked an agreement with partners in 2019 to “sterilize, vaccinate, and identify stray dogs.” However, according to local animal rights organizations, the TNVR initiative has yet to be implemented.