Save dogs in the Agadir City Pound from Starvation

This newsletter is mostly taken up with the situation of TNVR in Agadir and Morocco. We have explained our position and the circumstances on social media as things have unfolded, but I have taken the opportunity to try and set the situation out as clearly as I can.

Where we are (and why)

As of today’s date (31 March 2026) we are not longer a partner with the Agadir City Commune in the TNVR program.

We now have 885 dogs at our Shems Refuge, 300 dogs at the Farm Refuge, 150 puppies and 300 cats. That’s a total of 1335 dogs and 300 cats

We have rented some extra space at the Shems Refuge and built some more enclosures and most of the 368 adult dogs that we rescued from the City Animal Centre are living at Shems.

We have neutered and vaccinated 368 dogs rescued from the CAC, double vaccinated 150 puppies and neutered and vaccinated 150 cats.

Why has this happened?

Although we are now probably the largest animal refuge in Morocco, this has never been our intention. Our first mission has always been to neuter and vaccinate street dogs, keeping the population of street dogs under control and preventing the spread of rabies.

We believe that all animals should be allowed to live a safe and healthy life and that this is possible with the support and education of the human population.

We recognise that having too many dogs on the street is challenging, that rabies is a risk.

We believe that people should be made aware of the good that can come of having dogs around instead of just viewing them as a nuisance or a risk.

For over a decade we have worked really hard, Michele especially, to try and convince the government (local and national) that TNVR is the only way forward. Central government appeared to agree with us as evidenced by the 2019 convention mandating local authorities to implement TNVR in each area. Our local commune appeared to have agreed with us, and we worked towards a plan to implement TNVR in partnership with them. We advised on the construction of the Commune Animal Centre (CAC), which by the way, is a major improvement on the prisonlike facilities elsewhere.

So yes, we have worked with them, locally and nationally. We have been accused of being “complicit”. Well yes, we have been. We offered our advice and support to what we believe is the best way forward.

However, it has become increasingly apparent that the current administration is more invested in looking good, in having streets cleared of dogs and cats, than in actually carrying out a long term, planned, efficient and humane program of TNVR. There does not seem to have been a lot of thought given to the sustainability of housing and feeding thousands of dogs and cats inside the CAC.

If the neutered and vaccinated dogs are not returned to the streets, there is no barrier to disease, there is no eradication of rabies, there is no control of population numbers.

What happens instead is more dogs appear from the countryside, more puppies are born, more fighting and road accidents occur as new packs are formed and dogs range across the city to establish their territory.

Rats will flourish. Rabies will continue to be a problem.

You would think that after 60 plus years of trying to manage the situation by culling and finding that rabies is still endemic and cities are still full of street dogs and cats, the penny might have dropped. But apparently not.

The Fall Out

We could not just walk away and leave hundreds of dogs and cats that we had helped look after in the CAC. We have no faith that they would be looked after. So we took as many as we could. Ironically our wish to manage the population of dogs on the street has ended up with us taking more and more dogs into our refuges.

Meanwhile in the world press, the stories of 3 million dogs being killed still makes headlines. We read comments from people who only know what they see in the sensational stories. Who think the dogs are wild, feral animals or who think the Moroccan government is corrupt and vile. The truth is not so easy to define, nothing is black and white. Change of this kind is hard and takes time and the willingness of all.

What we need is positive solutions, not negative sound bites.

As difficult and as frustrating as it is, we have to try and keep working with the government if we are ever going to make sustainable change.

What the future looks like

The commune has not given us any indication of what they plan to do. In a few months’ time there will be an election. Perhaps priorities will change then.

For the moment our priority has to be looking after all the animals in our refuges. To do that we need your continued support.

We know it is a difficult time for everyone, so far this decade has thrown epidemics, wars, climate disasters and global economic downturns at us all. Rising prices are hitting us and impacting on all of you as well.

But one thing we do know. The amazing beldi dogs will carry on being the best dogs, smiling their way through everything that life throws at them. And our commitment to them will never change.

Hatches, Matches and Dispatches

Arrivals

So far this year we have welcomed 452 dogs and 300 cats to our refuges.

Sponsorships

Since we last reported (September 25) we have had 56 new sponsorship plans, sponsoring 59 dogs and 8 cats, from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czechia, France, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States.

Here are some of the happy faces

Adoptions

In 2025 we rehomed a total of 84 dogs and 14 cats. So far this year 17 dogs and 2 cats have gone to live with their families. It means the world to us to see these animals happy in their new homes

Sterilisations

In 2025 we sterilised a total of 279 dogs and 829 cats.

In the first 3 months of 2026 we have sterilised 73 dogs and 152 cats

We are as always grateful to have the support of Foundation Tierbotschafter for our TNVR program. However, we are sad to say that they are no longer able to support us to neuter and vaccinate street dogs going forward and have to reduce the number of cats that they can subsidise.

That’s all for now

Thank you for reading so far. I hope to have given you a better understanding of our situation and how we are managing.

Please stay with us, together we have some hope to change things for the better.

The last three months of 2025 were incredibly busy for us.

We have been working with our local city Commune to implement a Trap Neuter Vaccinate and Release Scheme (TNVR).  It has become clear to us that the Commune are not currently committed to the programe.  They have not released the sterilised and vaccinated dogs back on to the streets, despite many requests from us.  TNVR has been shown to be the only effective way to control street dog populations and stop the spread of rabies.  However for it to be effective, the vaccinated and sterilised dogs have to be released to the street.

We came to a very difficult decision, to withdraw from the programe.  We have to give 3 months notice of our intention to leave, which we have done in writing.  

As a result we have decided to take as many dogs as we can when we leave.  This means we have to work out where to keep the dogs and also we need to get them all sterilised (we have already sterilised about 120 of them).  So far we have taken over 100 very young orphaned puppies who were in the Commune Animal Center and some adult dogs.

We have started a fundraising campaign to help us cover the costs of sterilising the remaining dogs. 

We intend to enlarge our Shems Refuge to accommodate the adult dogs we take with us at the end of our partnership.

In the last three months we neutered and vaccinated 61 dogs and 210 cats, bringing the total for the year to 279 dogs and 833 cats.

Over the same period we took in 139 dogs (315 for the year) and 21 animals were adopted - taking our annual total to 98.

The Farm Refuge is full of puppies, growing and playing and keeping all the staff on their toes.

As always there seems no end to the issues that we face, and we will keep on doing what we can to make life better for the animals in Morocco.