فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
Tangier: A widespread outcry has erupted after local authorities in Tangier this week culled dogs bearing yellow tags, indicating they were vaccinated and sterilized. This operation comes despite Morocco’s official commitment to ending such practices, especially in the context of its bid to host the 2030 World Cup.
According to local press reports, residents of the Bab El Bahr complex and neighboring areas sent a protest letter to the region’s Wali, Younes Tazi, denouncing what they described as a “crime against harmless animals.” Residents affirmed that these dogs lived in the area under their care and surveillance and posed no threat.
A “Brutal and Shocking” Operation
According to testimonies gathered from residents, the incident dates back to the afternoon of May 12. Teams, accompanied by representatives from the prefecture, municipal agents, and unidentified individuals, intervened in the area to carry out a culling campaign using poison and gunfire, leaving the dogs to suffer in the presence of residents, including children.
Residents, according to the same sources, are calling for an urgent investigation and immediate measures to ensure such practices do not recur, especially since they targeted dogs bearing the yellow tag, an official marking proving their vaccination and sterilization as part of ethical dog population management programs.
International Commitments Versus Continued Culling
This “massacre” highlights a deep contradiction with Morocco’s international commitments, particularly as part of its joint bid with Spain and Portugal to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup, where the Kingdom had pledged to end the culling of stray dogs.
Despite these promises and repeated statements from authorities denying the existence of systematic elimination campaigns, several municipalities, including Tangier, continue to resort to culling stray dogs. This occurs even though budgets have been allocated for dog shelters, specialized associations are active, and an official petition to ban culling has been validated.
Residents are urgently calling on the Wali and central authorities to enforce the law and national commitments, and to protect sterilized dogs that are part of a modern and humane strategy for canine population control, replacing brutal and archaic methods.
