Moroccan animal welfare groups have called for urgent regulations clarifying when citizens may feed, shelter or treat stray animals under Law No. 19.25, warning that uncertainty could discourage people from rescuing injured animals.
The law, published in Official Gazette No. 7533 on August 10, creates a national framework for protecting stray animals, controlling their populations and limiting public-health risks.
Article 5 says individuals may feed, shelter or treat strays only in accordance with the law and its implementing regulations. Article 44 sets fines of 500 to 2,000 dirhams for violations in streets, shared residential buildings and other public spaces.
The regulations have not yet defined which interventions are permitted. Article 55 states that provisions requiring implementing texts take effect only after those texts are published, with a maximum two-year deadline for their adoption.
Zineb Takan, president of the Erham Association for Animal and Environmental Protection, said the government should define legal procedures for organized feeding, emergency treatment, rescue and temporary shelter.
She also sought national standards for animal-care centers covering capacity, hygiene, veterinary services, staffing and funding.
Ahmed Tazi, president of the ADAN animal-protection association, proposed supervised feeding areas in neighborhoods to protect animals while maintaining cleanliness and limiting disruption to residents.
Both groups support the TNVR method, which involves trapping, neutering, vaccinating, identifying and returning animals to suitable environments. Morocco adopted that approach under a 2019 framework agreement involving the Interior and Health ministries, ONSSA and the national veterinarians’ body, but campaigners say implementation has remained limited.
The law separately punishes the intentional killing, torture or injury of a stray animal with two to six months in prison and a fine of 5,000 to 20,000 dirhams.
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