Executive Summary

Animal protection in Morocco is provided through the Criminal Code which prohibits the killing of pets and the poisoning of farm and working animals. Wildlife is also provided some protections through the law on the Protection of Wild Flora and Fauna Species and Regulating Trade (2011). This law stipulates that the hunting, killing and capture of species protected under CITES, or are considered endangered at a national level is completely banned.

Animal welfare legislation is extremely limited in Morocco. While provisions have been provided in some cases regarding animal health, these provisions do not extend to improve animal welfare. Similarly, while there are some protections provided for certain categories of animals under the Criminal Code, this provision originates from the perspective of protecting property rather than an animal welfare perspective. There are currently no protections, secondary legislation or regulations to protect animals such as wild animals in captivity and in the wild, farm animals or animals used in scientific research. A draft bill on improved animal welfare was promulgated in 2013, however, this has yet to be passed by the Moroccan Government.

While the responsibility for animal health is assigned to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Authority for Water and Forests is responsible for enforcing wildlife related legislation, no Government body has been assigned responsibility for animal welfare.

Since the previous edition of the API in 2014, the Government of Morocco has made no major changes to animal welfare related policies and legislation. However, in November 2019, the Government announced a new national scheme to trap-neuter-release and mass vaccinate the roaming dog population.

The Government of Morocco is encouraged to introduce an independent Animal Welfare Act that includes a definition of animal welfare, in line with the OIE, and that explicitly promotes the Five Freedoms. The Government of Morocco is encouraged to assign responsibility for animal welfare to a Government Ministry and to establish an Animal Welfare Committee to advise the Government on policy and animal welfare solutions. The Animal Welfare Committee should include representatives from animal welfare organisations. The Government of Morocco is urged to enact legislation detailing specific welfare requirements for the rearing of farm animals during the phases of rearing, transport and slaughter. Such requirements should be legally binding and species-specific. Regular inspections onto farms and slaughter establishments should be carried out with a special focus on animal welfare. Further legal and policy recommendations are associated with each Animal Protection Index (API) indicator and contained in the relevant sections of this report.