Moroccan animal welfare groups called for an investigation into the shooting of stray dogs in Tinghir after images of Saturday’s operation circulated online, Hespress reported on Monday, July 20, intensifying scrutiny of how local authorities acted days after parliament approved new animal-protection legislation.
Abderrahman Oukji, president of the Aydi Association for Animal and Environmental Care, demanded the identification of the authority that ordered the shooting and those responsible for carrying it out.
Rights activist Abdelwahed Darwish said the operation conflicted with government directives favouring the collection, sterilisation and vaccination of stray dogs over indiscriminate killing.
Some local activists defended the intervention as necessary to protect residents, particularly children and older people, citing roaming packs, reported attacks and the risk of rabies. The accounts provided no official figures on recent bites or evidence that the animals shot were rabid or posed an immediate danger.
The dispute centres on whether the operation met the legal and veterinary conditions for emergency intervention, rather than whether authorities may act against dangerous animals.
Morocco’s parliament completed approval of Bill 19.25 on July 7. The text prohibits unjustified killing and provides prison terms of two to six months and fines of 5,000 to 20,000 dirhams for intentionally killing, torturing or mistreating a stray animal.
It exempts humane killing carried out under the law and allows local administrative authorities to intervene exceptionally when animals threaten public order or safety. The legislation takes effect after publication in the Official Gazette.
A Rabat administrative court ruled in June 2025 that shootings or poisonings conducted without scientific or veterinary grounds breached animal-protection commitments. It held the state, represented by the Interior Ministry, liable for failing to prevent such practices and awarded the plaintiffs a symbolic dirham.
The court rejected a request for a nationwide injunction on procedural grounds.
The Tinghir incident also came four months after provincial authorities signed an agreement to create and equip a centre for collecting and housing stray animals. The project’s implementation status remains unclear.
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