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Rabat – Over the weekend, the Directorate General of National Security (DGSN) released a new memorandum concerning the ownership of vicious dogs that put citizens’ safety at risk.
The memorandum referred to the requirements of Law 56-12 on the “prevention and protection of people against the dangers of dogs,” which forbids the possession, domestication, purchasing, selling, and breeding of dogsconsidered vicious.
In August 2013, when the text of Law 56-12 was first established, it explained, “A dangerous dog is one which displays, by nature of its breed or morphological characteristics, aggression deemed to be dangerous to man.”
The reason behind implementing this law is due fears surrounding a possible spike in the cases of dog bites. Currently, Morocco records approximately 50,000 cases per year.
In January 2013, Interior Minister Mohand Laenser said in a statement, “More than 50,000 cases of people being bitten by dogs are registered each year, further increasing the number of deaths because of rabies.”
Many people have been harmed by vicious dogs, including pitbulls and rottweilers. According to the new memorandum, the ownership of “fierce” dogs will be considered a prosecutable offense.
The memorandum cites several incidents where suspects and criminals used vicious dogs to face police officers and prevent them from implementing security interventions.
Any dog owner accused of violating the law will face a maximum sentence of five years in jail and fines of up to 50,000 MAD ($4,692).
The new memorandum is part of the DGSN Security’s determination to intervene forcefully to prevent the phenomenon of breeding and taming vicious dogs, as well as their use for different purposes.
