Stray dogs in Morocco are vanishing—sometimes in the dead of night, sometimes in broad daylight, often in plain sight. As the country prepares to co-host the 2030 FIFA World Cup, mounting evidence suggests that this "clean-up" comes at an unbearable cost: mass killings of street dogs under the banner of public safety and urban beautification.

On the surface, Morocco touts a humane approach. Since 2019, it has implemented a Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return (TNVR) program designed to reduce stray populations while respecting animal welfare. At a government-run center in El Aarjate near Rabat, dogs are spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and released back with a visible ear tag, the Associated Press reports.

But that is only part of the story. On Morocco’s streets, other scenes unfold: pools of blood outside school gates, dogs writhing in pain from poison, or violently captured with metal tongs and crammed into unmarked white vans.

These accounts come not from anonymous rumor but from a growing number of witnesses, activists, and animal welfare groups.

Morocco is killing thousands of stray dogs ahead of the 2030 World Cup.

Living Through a Nightmare

Amina, a 19-year-old student from Ifrane, wakes up to the sound of gunfire. When she steps outside, she finds dogs dead in a dumpster—one of them a husky she used to pet on her way to class.

“They kill dogs like it’s a sport,” she told CNN. "Like people hunt ducks."

Her story is echoed across cities like Casablanca, Agadir, and Marrakech, where locals report dogs being seized by municipal vehicles operated by Casa Baia, a public development company. Videos reviewed by CNN show metal chains, fishing nets, and terrified dogs tossed into vans. Some are sick. Some are already tagged—vaccinated and neutered, yet still targeted.

One American woman, Erin Captain, said her two vaccinated puppies were taken outside her Casablanca home.

“One had its little legs broken; the other was kicked to death,” she told CNN. “I don’t sleep anymore.”

Witnesses report dogs being shot, poisoned, and beaten in the streets.

Children Watching, Communities Traumatized

This isn’t just an animal welfare crisis. It’s a human one, too.

Shootings and poisonings are sometimes carried out in full view of families. Children have reportedly watched their neighborhood dogs shot or dragged away by wire, causing deep psychological trauma.

In a letter to the United Nations, the International Animal Welfare Protection Coalition stated that Morocco’s methods may violate the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, citing dozens of firsthand accounts, India Today reports.

Even adults have been caught in the crossfire. A barista in Ben Ahmed was shot in the leg while a municipal vehicle pursued a stray dog, according to CNN. The dog escaped. The man did not.

Municipal workers are rounding up dogs and loading them into unmarked vans.

Official Promises, Uneven Practices

The Moroccan government continues to point to the TNVR program as its solution of choice. Public health official Mohammed Roudani has affirmed that the program respects animal life and aims to prevent rabies, which reportedly infects more than 100,000 people annually—many of them children, according to the Associated Press.

But implementation is patchy. Local municipalities are in charge of animal control, and no national law currently bans dog culling. As Roudani himself admitted, there’s a “legal vacuum.” In practice, this means some towns enforce humane policies while others rely on shootings and strychnine poisoning—a substance banned in many countries for its prolonged, excruciating effects.

Meanwhile, the government says new legislation is coming. Until then, Morocco’s streets remain a war zone for its strays.

The World Watches, But Change Is Slow

The backlash has gone international. PETA staged a protest during the Club World Cup match between Manchester City and Morocco’s Wydad AC, carrying a banner that read “Morocco – Stop Shooting Dogs and Cats,” CBS Sports reports.

Dr. Jane Goodall has personally written to FIFA, condemning the killings as an attempt to sanitize Morocco’s image ahead of the tournament. She warned that if nothing changes, fans may call for a boycott or pressure sponsors to withdraw.

“FIFA will be known for its complicity in an horrific act of barbarity—on your watch,” she wrote, according to India Today.

FIFA acknowledges the concerns but claims Morocco has “implemented measures” and pledged to uphold animal welfare commitments. Still, activists say the governing body has not followed up meaningfully.

A Fight for Dignity

Morocco’s stray dogs—affectionately called “Beldi” by locals—have long lived alongside humans, occupying a place in neighborhood life that’s now being erased. While centers in Rabat and other cities showcase humane treatment and clean facilities, activists say these are the exceptions, not the rule.

The push to host an international sporting event should not come at the expense of sentient lives. Humane alternatives exist. Morocco has demonstrated it can lead on this issue. But it must do so consistently—and with legal teeth behind its promises.

Until then, the world will continue to see not just the goals scored on the pitch, but the lives lost on the streets.

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