Morocco Launches Nationwide Stray Dog Sterilization Program

The stray dog sterilization operation is being carried out jointly by the National Council of the Order of Veterinarians (OVM), the municipality, the Oujda City Council and the ONSSA. According to the explanations provided by the veterinarians, this operation, which has started in Oujda and will have a national scope, aims to stop reproduction at the level of stray dogs in order to reduce their number. In a statement published by the Order of Physicians, it is indicated that "2,000 private veterinarians and ONSSA agents will participate in this campaign which will also cover several rural areas".

The operation is part of a framework agreement signed in February 2019 and the implementation of which was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic. According to Dr. Badre Tnacheri Ouazzani, president of the OVM, quoted by Médias24, this operation is the best solution to fight against the phenomenon of stray dogs and at the same time put an end to all the consequences it entails. Vaccination will be done in veterinary clinics, due to the lack of shelters. "The municipality will be responsible for capturing the dogs that it will send to the clinics. It is certainly constraining for the veterinarians, but it is a necessary sacrifice," explains the president of the Order of Veterinarians.

The operation does not only consist of sterilizing stray dogs and releasing them into nature, but the framework agreement requires the construction of shelters capable of accommodating them. But for the moment, there is only one shelter built in Rabat. Pending the construction of shelters in the major cities concerned by the vaccination, the vaccinated dogs will be released where they were captured. Veterinarians reassure that "the sterilized dogs will be recognizable thanks to a numbered ear tag, proof of their good health".

The Minister of Health and his counterpart of the Interior invite the walis and other local authorities to support this operation so that it is a success.