CNN — For 19-year-old Amina from Ifrane, a small mountain town known as the “Switzerland of Morocco,” dead dogs are a common sight. Amina requested that CNN refer to her by a pseudonym for fear of retribution by Moroccan authorities.
“Walking to school, I would pass pools of blood on the street,” she recalled in an interview with CNN. “At a certain point, I realized it wasn’t normal to start your day stepping over dead bodies.”
According to Amina, the killings have gotten especially bad in the last year. “There used to be occasional shootings every few months,” she said. “Now, they are more systematic. They kill dogs like it’s a sport – like people hunt ducks.”
Animal welfare groups say the killings are part of a campaign to “clean up” Morocco’s streets ahead of the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which the nation is co-hosting with Spain and Portugal, while Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina will all host stage an opening match each.
“Individuals armed with rifles go out into the streets, often at night, and shoot the dogs,” Les Ward, head of the International Animal Welfare Protection Coalition (IAWPC), told CNN.
“Others are rounded up and taken to municipal dispensaries where they are poisoned. They simply disappear.”
Omar Jaïd, President of the Provincial Tourism Council of Ifrane, told CNN that the city has “started cleaning the streets of stray dogs, as part of our preparations for the 2030 FIFA World Cup.”
Ifrane is roughly a 40-mile drive (about 64 kilometers) from Fez Stadium, one of the proposed tournament venues which is expected to host a multitude of national soccer teams alongside thousands of visitors.
Jaïd added that the animals are rounded up and relocated to dispensaries where they can be vaccinated. He emphasized he is a “dog lover” …
