A devastated mum has uprooted her entire life and moved to Edinburgh, Scotland after her young daughter’s dogs were slaughtered by cruel Moroccan dog catchers.
Louise Smith, 46 and her daughter Salma, aged just six, returned after Salma’s favourite pet dog Bingo, who she had cared for since a puppy was loaded onto a van as she screamed and cried.
It was the final straw for the animal loving family, who have cared for dogs at their home in Marrakesh since Salma was born.
Ahead of the 2030 World Cup, Morocco is slaughtering millions of street dogs in and around host cities, and children are regularly witnessing the public slaughter of both strays and their own tagged pets.
The dogs are either beaten, shot or poisoned with strychnine in full view of members of the public, before being loaded onto open trucks and driven to disposal facilities outside the cities.
Louise said: “The sound day and night is unbearable and as an animal-loving family we couldn’t stand it anymore. The final straw was Bingo, he was Salma’s own dog and we had him neutered and tagged.
“He was her treasured pet and such a sweet character. I tried to bargain with the dog catchers, I explained that Bingo was only outside for a wee wee but they didn’t care, they didn’t care that my daughter was standing there.
“When they took Bingo, Salma was beside herself, she cut her knuckles. She was banging on the door so hard and she was left standing in the street screaming as he was driven away. We knew that we would not see him again. I knew then that for our health I had to get us out of Marrakesh.”
Louise, who is from Edinburgh, moved to Marrakech as a younger woman, after falling in love with Morocco after spending holidays there. Previously working in London, Louise had a skilled job working as an addiction therapist and project coordinator and used these skills to find work in the city as a teacher.
When Salma was born the family committed to staying in the country they loved, and for years cared for local dogs as well as their own pets.
But when the street dog cull began the family found themselves constantly hounded by the authorities, and having to bribe officials into giving them back pets that had been seized.
“At first I felt that the dog catchers were taking our dogs because they knew that I would give them money. We had one dog called Old Mummy and they took her multiple times, and we were always able to get her back, but it was very stressful.
“But then they brought in new dog catchers who were younger and they were just so intent on killing dogs.
“They took Bingo, and Salma witnessed it all. All of our dogs were properly cared for, tagged and sterilised and they just didn’t care. It was all about killing dogs for them.”
Louise became incredibly worried about the impact that witnessing so much animal cruelty was having on her daughter, and the sentiment is echoed by the IAWPC (International Animal Coalition) which argues that FIFA should protect children by putting stipulations on dog population control methods in their acceptance of Morocco’s bid.
Foremost, would be the immediate end to the inhumane and ineffective killing of street and owned dogs and the introduction of humane effective management measures like catch, neuter, vaccinate and release (CNVR).
She added: “People we knew were challenging it more and more, but the police started to get called. People were getting arrested and jailed simply for trying to speak out about what was going on. It felt like serious corruption.
“My daughter understands that we look after dogs, to have a family member barbarically taken away knowing its fate is unimaginable for an adult let alone a child. Salma has had to say goodbye to dogs she has loved in a humane way surrounded by love but in such an unjustifiable violent way is unimaginable and unforgivable. This is inhumane public slaughter on a massive scale. It is terrifying.”
Following the death of Bingo, Louise and Salma left their life behind and came back to her hometown where they have family support.
Salma, who has dual nationality, is enjoying school in the city and loves caring for the family’s three-legged rescue dog Daisy, but her heart and mind are still firmly with the dogs that she has cared for in Morocco.
Louise said: “We send food back for the dogs in our old neighbourhood, and Salma talks about them all the time. I think it is her way of coping with the big change and all that she has seen.
“We continue to campaign against what is going on in Morocco, and we urge FIFA to have a heart and use their power to stop this inhumane cull.
“This of course affects the dogs, but it affects little children too. I don’t know what the lasting impact will be on Salma, but she is surrounded by love and we will care for her.”
