Outcry as Emaciated Dogs Found in Abandoned Building in Kénitra, Morocco

The publication of videos and photos of lifeless puppies, emaciated, emaciated, skeletal dogs, locked up and squeezed into an abandoned building, is moving the web. It was the local authorities who moved these "street" animals to this place, civil society actors on the spot told L’Opinion. Thanks to the mobilization of a large number of its followers, 20 dogs have been taken care of and removed from bad conditions, said Dounia Louezzane, founder of the association Kelb Derby, an association for the protection of the living conditions of street dogs in Morocco.

In Morocco, the problem of stray dogs concerns both elected officials and associations. "The problem of stray dogs is a huge source of anxiety on the roads and alleys, especially in more popular neighborhoods," said MP Mohamed Raggani in May. "This raises a lot of fear among citizens, regardless of their status or age, especially children going to school early in the morning." Animal protection associations, for their part, call for the protection of these dogs.

They advocate for TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return in English) as the ultimate solution in Morocco. This method applies in three phases: catch the stray dog, sterilize it and vaccinate it against rabies at the same time, then release it into its natural environment, with an ear tag so that it can be identified. "This is the only effective way to reduce the cohorts of stray dogs that will stop reproducing, which will lead to a significant decrease in this canine population over the years," said Élise Baron, volunteer manager at the refuge of the Moroccan Union for the Protection of Animals (UMPA) located in Bouskoura.