“Profound disappointment” as FIFA awards Morocco the 2030 World Cup bid despite mass dog slaughter
Thousands of dogs have already been rounded up and killed across Morocco as part of the country’s efforts to “clean up” its 3 million stray animals in preparation to host the sports tournament.
Campaign groups have blasted FIFA’s decision to award Morocco the 2030 World Cup after the country was accused of the mass slaughter of thousands of street animals to “clean up” its streets in preparation for the tournament.
Morocco’s ongoing mass cull has received increased global condemnation during the last few months after the country’s bid for the international soccer tournament.
Efforts to “clean up” the county’s 3 million strays ahead of the bid saw footage being leaked of dogs being hunted down, violently seized with metal clamps, and thrown onto trucks on top of other animals. The captured animals were then transported to facilities where they are killed using inhumane methods including being beaten to death.
Additional reports stated that gunmen armed with rifles and pistols were roaming areas to shoot animals, and leaving those who do not die immediately to bleed out. The dogs allegedly all end up in mass graves, many while still conscious.
Courtesy of the International Animal Welfare Protection Coalition (IAWPC).
Campaigners estimate that between 60 and 70 dogs were being killed every other day in cities like Marrakech and Agadir. Recent mass killings are reported to have centred around proposed tournament venues and have increased before site visits by FIFA.
Despite the controversy and widespread protests - including over 10,000 letters sent to FIFA’s Ethics Committee from Species Unite supporters - FIFA has now confirmed that it has awarded the 2030 World Cup to Morocco, which the country will co-host alongside Spain and Portugal.
Groups including In Defense of Animals and the International Animal Welfare Protection Coalition (IAWPC) have said it is a “profound disappointment” that Morocco has won its bid for the FIFA World Cup despite the country’s ongoing “mass killing of street dogs”.
An injured dog left to bleed out. Courtesy of the International Animal Welfare Protection Coalition (IAWPC).
FIFA says that it stands by Morocco's claim that the dog slaughter ended in August 2024 and that resources are now being spent for humane programs.
But the IAWPC says it has “extensive evidence” that the brutal government-sanctioned killings not only continued after that date, but even escalated as Morocco won the bid.
While FIFA’s plan for the upcoming tournament includes safeguards for biodiversity and animal welfare, IAWPC says Morocco’s conduct so far goes against this, with evidence of poisoned dogs writhing in agony, mass shootings, and animal bodies discarded in mass graves.
With Morocco's bid now successful, IAWPC fears that the lives of the country’s 3 million street dogs could be at risk in the lead-up to the tournament in 2030.
“The mass killing of street dogs in Morocco ahead of the FIFA World Cup is cruel, shameful and unnecessary,” the IAWPC said in a statement. “FIFA should place Morocco as a co-host on hold, until it ceases to perpetrate these atrocities and a legally binding undertaking is given, to immediately introduce humane measures nationwide.”
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