The IAWPC has taken the fight to save Morocco’s free-roaming dogs to the Labour Party conference, warning that Britain must not pursue World Cup business opportunities while ignoring the mass killing.
The International Animal Welfare Protection Coalition, IAWPC, attended the conference in Liverpool to press for government intervention over the fate of up to three million dogs campaigners say could be killed before Morocco co-hosts the 2030 tournament with Spain and Portugal.
Representatives held meaningful conversations with supportive MPs, peers and ministers, and handed out hundreds of flyers explaining the killings and setting out how Britain could help bring them to an end.
The coalition says an estimated 500,000 street and owned dogs are killed in Morocco every year, mostly by people acting on behalf of local authorities.
Its campaign warns that dogs are being shot and poisoned in public places, violently captured and taken to municipal pounds where investigators have documented overcrowding, starvation, cannibalism, dehydration and untreated injuries.
Debbie Wilson, vice chair of the IAWPC, said: “It was important for us to attend the Labour Party conference because the people with the power to help stop this suffering were there. We needed to make sure Morocco’s dogs were part of the conversation.
“We had meaningful discussions with supportive MPs, peers and ministers, and handed out hundreds of flyers to delegates. Every conversation was an opportunity to explain what is happening and ask people to use their influence.
“Britain is pursuing commercial opportunities connected with Morocco’s World Cup preparations. That gives the Government both a responsibility and an opportunity to demand change. Animal welfare cannot be pushed aside while contracts are pursued.
“We want those expressions of concern to become action. These dogs need protection now, and Morocco needs a humane, sustainable programme that replaces killing with catching, neutering, vaccinating and returning dogs.”
The coalition warns that the killings are not only cruel and ineffective but are also contributing to the spread of rabies, making the situation a public health emergency.
It says the suffering extends beyond the animals themselves, with children, residents and tourists exposed to shootings, poisonings and violent captures.
Children have witnessed dogs they know and care for being killed, it says, while people who feed and protect community animals have been left frightened and traumatised.
Campaigners also warn that poison and firearms used in public places create risks for people and other animals.
In April this year, a six-year-old child was shot in the eye, chest and lungs by dog shooters while playing on the doorstep of his home at 10am.
The killings have continued despite assurances given to FIFA that animal culling is prohibited. It is calling on football’s governing body to enforce the animal welfare commitments contained in Morocco’s World Cup bid documentation.
FIFA has received regular evidence dossiers and must use its influence as tournament organiser to secure an end to the killings.
Its appeal to Labour comes as Britain seeks a greater role in delivering Morocco’s World Cup infrastructure.
In March 2025, trade minister Gareth Thomas travelled to Morocco with British businesses and signed a declaration of intent to advance cooperation on the tournament. In June that year, the Government announced partnerships intended to place British companies at the front of the queue for infrastructure opportunities.
A further visit in June 2026 saw trade minister Sir Chris Bryant accompanied by around 50 companies with expertise in major sporting events, as Britain and Morocco discussed cooperation ahead of 2030.
The IAWPC argues that this commercial involvement gives Britain leverage to demand animal welfare safeguards.
It wants ministers to publicly condemn the killings, raise the issue directly with Morocco and FIFA, and make future British support for World Cup preparations conditional on an independently verified end to the practice.
The coalition is also urging MPs and peers to submit parliamentary questions, write to ministers and raise the dogs’ plight in debates about UK-Morocco trade and the tournament.
At the heart of its proposals is a nationwide Catch, Neuter, Vaccinate and Return programme, supported by independent monitoring. The IAWPC has offered its expertise and assistance to help establish such a scheme.
