Strays in a World of pain

FOR thousands of years, Morocco has been home to these pups.

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The beldi, or country dogs, are part of the nation's ecosystem but their lives have never been easy.

Many live in dire conditions, foraging for scraps to survive.

And now, local authorities want them wiped out entirely.

Since December, when the country was named as one of the co-hosts of the football tournament with Spain and Portugal, killings of the animals have increased dramatically, especially around sites which are being prepared for the World Cup.

Downton Abbey actor Peter Egan, 78, is part of a campaign to stop the brutality.

"Dogs are being stabbed, poisoned, beaten, shot and inhumanely caught and thrown into trucks," he says.

For most people in Morocco, street dogs are an ordinary part of life.

Many communities adopt their own pooch which they care for collectively, fitting them with ear tags to show they have been vaccinated and sterilised. Yet even these beloved hounds are being rounded up and killed.