UN peace ambassador calls for urgent end to street dog cull linked to football tournament preparations
Dr Jane Goodall sat down for a much-publicised podcast with Moby this week, but did you know that she is also a supporter of the IAWPC Morocco Dogs Campaign?
Renowned primatologist and UN Messenger of Peace Dr Jane Goodall has written to FIFA condemning the large-scale killing of street dogs in Morocco, which animal welfare groups say is taking place ahead of the country co-hosting the 2030 World Cup.
In a strongly worded letter to FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström, Dr Goodall said she was “absolutely appalled” by reports of dogs being slaughtered to make cities more “presentable” for foreign visitors.
Her letter cites evidence presented by the International Animal Welfare Protection Coalition (IAWPC), including photographic and video documentation of what she described as “the most brutal and cruel fashion imaginable.”
Dr Goodall warned that the killings would provoke outrage among football fans worldwide, many of whom are also animal lovers.
“There is simply no excuse for the awful campaign of cruelty that is being executed in football’s name,” she wrote.
“I call on you to use your position as FIFA Secretary General to bring it to an immediate end, and to earn the respect and gratitude of the football-loving public everywhere for doing so.”
She also urged FIFA to suspend Morocco’s role as co-host unless the killings are halted.
“If you fail to act, however, FIFA will be known for its complicity in an horrific act of barbarity – on your watch,” she said.
The IAWPC says Morocco has already seen thousands of street dogs killed in recent months, despite the availability of humane alternatives such as sterilisation and vaccination programmes.
Chairman of the IAWPC Les Ward praised Dr Goodall’s intervention:
“We are incredibly grateful to Jane for her continued and courageous support. Her voice carries enormous weight, and it means the world to our coalition and to the countless animals whose suffering she is helping to expose.”
The IAWPC is calling on FIFA, sponsors, and the Moroccan government to commit to ending the killings and instead support humane, long-term solutions in line with international standards of animal welfare.
