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BBC News
05-03-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Chesterfield woman's relief as Morocco street dogs scheme starts
A woman campaigning to save street dogs in part of Morocco says she is relieved after a programme to vaccinate and sterilise them began. Saffron Dixon, of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, decided she wanted to help after learning millions of dogs were to be killed in a clean-up of streets ahead of the Fifa World Cup in 2030, which Morocco will jointly host. The Embassy of Morocco in London previously told the BBC that dogs that were neutered and vaccinated should be protected - while harmful practices for controlling stray animals were Dixon said the programme she was supporting started last week with the first six dogs treated. Ms Dixon's campaign began after she went to Taghazout in November 2023 and a pack of stray dogs would visit her hotel where she would feed returned the following year and met a woman who runs an organisation helping stray dogs called Al-Nour Animal Help. Ms Dixon is now supporting the group in a programme to vaccinate, sterilise, microchip and tag street dogs. The 24-year-old has raised more than £6,000 towards the Dixon said, after the programme began last week, she "cried all day because I have worked so hard on it"."It has taken a lot to do it so I feel like quite relieved now... I'm just hoping that these ones [dogs] will be left alone," she is also planning to do a skydive in April for the campaign. Les Ward, chairman of the International Animal Coalition (IAWPC) said: "If we think things are bad, as in the case in Morocco, then we activate the international animal welfare coalition."We have offered to use our expertise and experience to introduce a humane, comprehensive animal dog management programme in conjunction with the veterinary authorities and government in Morocco."He said the government and Fifa have not Ward claimed dogs in Morocco were being "shot, poisoned, caught and killed" and it was barbaric and brutal with "no place in a civilised society". A spokesperson from the Embassy of Morocco previously told the BBC the country had "implemented comprehensive" schemes like the Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate, Release program which was rolled out in 2019 as a "humane and effective solution".They added they have published a number of circulars to local authorities to tell them that harmful practices, such as the use of firearms or the poison strychnine, for controlling stray animals were BBC has approached Fifa for a response.
BBC News
16-02-2025
- BBC News
Chesterfield woman campaigns to save dogs before 2030 World Cup
A woman's holiday in Morocco has turned into a mission to save as many street dogs as possible by raising money to vaccinate and sterilise them. Saffron Dixon, of Chesterfield, in Derbyshire, said she started feeding a pack of stray dogs when she was in Taghazout in 2023, and returned the next year "just to see the dogs".After she said she learned millions of dogs were to be killed in a clean-up of the streets ahead of the FIFA World Cup in 2030, which Morocco is jointly-hosting, she wanted to Embassy of Morocco in London said dogs which are neutered and vaccinated should be protected and harmful practices for controlling stray animals are prohibited. Miss Dixon said she first went to Taghazout, in Morocco, in November 2023, where a pack of stray dogs would visit her hotel and she would feed them. A group of other tourists were doing the same, and they made a WhatsApp group and returned together in November 2024. She said: "We booked to go back just to see the dogs really."We were hoping to see the same dogs we had seen the year before... I think we saw one. "We asked locals about it and... because Morocco are holding the 2030 World Cup, they want to cleanse the streets of unvaccinated street dogs to eliminate diseases so they had done a huge cull."Miss Dixon added: "After I left in November... I felt like I was leaving them there to suffer." Miss Dixon said she was now working with a charity called Al-Nour Animal Help, which vaccinates and sterilises the animals. So far she has raised more than £2,700 after launching her campaign last month. She said: "It costs £25 to vaccinate a dog over there and then they get a little tag through their ear, which shows they are vaccinated so if they have got the tag, the authorities shouldn't be able to touch them."I am raising money to get as many as possible vaccinated."The 24-year-old said the money raised will also be used to sterilise the male dogs, which costs £60. A spokesperson from the Embassy of Morocco said the country had an "unwavering commitment to humane and sustainable solutions for managing stray dog populations while prioritising public health and animal welfare". They added Morocco had "implemented comprehensive measures" to do this, including the "Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate, Release" (TNVR) program, which was rolled out in 2019 as a "humane and effective solution".It added it had published a number of circulars to local authorities to emphasise harmful practices, such as the use of firearms or strychnine, a poison, for controlling stray animals were documents also explained dogs marked under the TNVR program should be protected, said the spokesperson.A draft decree to enforce a law designed to safeguard public health while ensuring animal welfare has also been finalised, the spokesperson added.
