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Rabat – Animal rights activist, Salima Kadawi, has said she filed a complaint against a person working in Tangier’s Equestrian Club for appearing in a video brutally beating a dog.
Kadawi said she took the baby dog to an animal clinic for a check up. The puppy will stay at the shelter and will not get hurt, Kadawi said on the organization’ Facebook account.
The SFT is an animal sanctuary in Tangier that houses stray animals and provides them with shelter and care.
The organization was awarded the 2018 World Rabies Day Award in recognition of its invaluable efforts in rabies prevention in the MENA, Eastern Europe, and central Asia regions.
Police in Tangier promptly and positively reacted to Kadawi’s complaint, and many observers have interpreted the police’s activist-like reception of the complaint as the best sign that animal mistreatment is an illegal act in Morocco.
According to the Animal Protection Index, Morocco still has to intensify efforts on the legislative side.
The country’s criminal code has a shy announcement of prohibition of killing or poisoning of pets and farm working animals.
The protocol of Wild Flora and Fauna Species and Regulating Trade provides wildlife animals with some protections, while there is actually no mention of protection of strays in the city.
In most cases, the safety of these animals is left to civil society activists.
In November 2019, Morocco’s government launched a national campaign to vaccinate the country’s stray dog population.
However, the country does not provide clear legislation regarding the protection of wild animals in captivity, farm animals or animals used in scientific research.
A draft bill on improved animal welfare was promulgated in 2013, but the Moroccan government has yet to pass the draft bill.
Amid the continued brutalization and mistreatment of animals, civil society organizations maintain that Morocco should intensify efforts towards criminalization of animal abuse and enforce a clearcut law that would hinder people from abusive behavior toward animals.
