Rabat – A group of animal welfare organizations in Morocco issued on Tuesday a joint press release to condemn the poor treatment of stray animals across the country.
The associations decried the lack of action to humanely deal with the situation of stray animals despite King Mohammed VI’s instructions.
“Despite the High Instructions from his Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist Him, and the Framework Convention signed in 2019, under the aegis of the Ministry of Interior, the TNVR program (Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate, Release to their initial environment) to put an end to diseases such as rabies and other zoonoses, has still not been put into practice,” the statement said.
The lack of measures to properly implement the program’s recommendations has contributed to the “brutal and inhumane operations of capturing and culling animals,” the collective added.
The collective’s appeal comes in response to shocking and heartbreaking reports of the mistreatment and cruel killing of stray animals in the North African country.
Recently, a series of videos online showed men with rifles shooting stray dogs. Other recent videos also showed locked up and abandoned dogs left to die in a shelter near Rabat with no food or water.
Many similar footage have also documented over the past weeks the inhumane approaches some groups have taken to capture stray animals.
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The animals subject to such inhumane treatment include kittens and puppies, despite the fact that some of the stray cats and dogs are vaccinated, sterilized, and identified.
Emphasizing Morocco’s appeal to international tourists, the collective argued that similar acts against stray animals gives a “totally degraded and depreciated image of our country in the eyes of those who witness it.”
In terms of recommendations, the collective strongly called for the immediate cessation of the capturing and killing of stray animals across Morocco.
The collective further demanded the application of TNVR measures, including sterilization, vaccination, and identification of treated dogs and stray animals in line ith recommendations of competent institutions, including the World Health Organization which against brutal acts stray dogs and acts are subject to.
The group also called for animal welfare organizations’ integration in the implementation of the TNVR program to ensure transparency.
