Bits and Bites from Around the World > Culling street dogs in Morocco, by the millions; Pygmy Owl survives hit by car in central B.C.

 

Three MILLION dogs to be killed in Morocco ahead of the FIFA World Cup in a‘brutal clean-up of the streets'

by Taryn Pedlar, Daily Mail, January 14, 2025:

A top conservationist has condemned Morocco and urged FIFA to take action over the slaughter of three million street dogs ahead of the 2030 World Cup.

Campaigners claim that the animals could be killed in a brutal ‘clean-up’ operation to make cities more presentable to visiting football fans.

Reports suggest thousands of stray dogs have already been massacred in venues across the North African nation, with fears the killings are escalating.

Jane Goodall, a prominent animal rights campaigner, has now written to the international football association demanding immediate action, accusing the organisation of turning a blind eye to what she calls ‘a horrific act of barbarity’.

In the letter addressed to FIFA’s Secretary General Mattias Grafström, Goodall said she was left appalled to see that Moroccan authorities were engaging in the large-scale killings – an initiative which allegedly stopped in August 2024.

‘I am equally appalled to learn from the IAWPC – International Animal Coalition that you have been presented with detailed dossiers documenting these horrific acts, most of which are conducted in the most brutal and cruel fashion imaginable, and yet appear to have ignored them,’ she continued.

The animal rights activist then questioned how football fans around the world would react if they knew of the brutality the helpless animals were facing in the run up to the games….

 

'Tiny but tough,' Pygmy Owl survives

being hit by car in Cariboo

A Northern Pygmy Owl survived being hit by a car thanks to a local birder

Patrick Davies
a day ago

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1 / 9 A Northern Pygmy Owl dubbed Tiny But Tough who was hit by a car on Highway 97 peers at the camera. (Murray Zelt photo)Murray Zelt

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A Northern Pygmy Owl proved its toughness earlier this month after getting hit by a car on Highway 97 in early January.

The incident occurred around Jan. 8 near the turnoff to Canim Hendrix Road while local wildlife photographer Murray Zelt was out photographing the diminutive predator. Zelt said he saw the accident happen in real-time and was horrified. Springing into action Zelt dashed onto the highway to retrieve what he thought was the owl's corpse only to be surprised when it started showing signs of life. 

"I ran out and picked it up with my bare hands and took it back to my car. I was literally in tears, I love watching these beautiful creatures," Zelt said. "I was kind of praying, basically, don't let it die but its little feet and talons were still quivering so I knew there was still a pulse and a chance." 

Zelt has been photographing wildlife for several years now since his forced retirement after the Chasm Sawmill closed down in 2019. He said he has always enjoyed being out in nature to camp and fish, so taking photos of wildlife and his adventures was a natural fit. 

One of his favourite subjects to take pictures of includes the 17 different species of owls that make B.C. their home. This winter he said he has been seeing a lot more owls than usual and noticed a Northern Pygmy Owl hunting near Highway 97 on Jan. 7. After photographing it he decided to return the next day to get some more photos. 

"This year has been an incredible year for the owls for whatever reason, because of the mild winter," Zelt remarked. "It's pretty neat to see them 'cause they're not that common, normally." 

When he returned Zelt said it was late in the afternoon and he watched the owl hop from power line to power line peering down into the ditches. Zelt remarked the Northern Pygmy Owl was hunting for voles, one of its primary food sources. Suddenly Zelt said he saw it dart down into the snow and then after a few seconds come up with a vole in its talons. 

"It burst out of the snow and this vole was as big as the owl, almost the exact same size, it was incredible. Instead of flying back up onto the powerline or a nearby branch of a tree or shrub it darted across the highway around shoulder height," Zelt said. "I could see it unfold right in front of my eyes as this car, going about 90 clicks, nails it dead on the and owl bounced on the road. I literally yelled 'oh no!"

Another vehicle passed over the top of the owl before Zelt was able to retrieve it from the road. At first, Zelt thought the owl's claws twitching were its death spasms but after getting into his car, intending to take it home for a burial, he noticed the owl trying to stand up, much to his shock. 

Worried the owl would start trying to fly in his car, Zelt grabbed a cloth grocery bag and picked the owl up to put it inside. When he grabbed it he said it sunk his talons into his finger, another encouraging sign.

"It didn't feel good, let me tell you. There were three of them all embedding into my finger so I had to pry them one at a time with my other hand. Didn't draw blood but I thought 'gee, it's got some life, it's got some strength'."

After driving to his home in Lac La Hache, Zelt put the owl in a shoe box and called up the Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society (OWL). A few years ago Zelt said he took care of a Great Horned Owl who had also been hit by his nephew, so he has contacts with OWL. They told him to keep the owl for observation overnight and if it was able to fly in his home with no discernable injuries he should be alright to release it back into the wild. 

"He said you would be surprised by how tough these little guys are. Sometimes they can really take a licking and keep on ticking," Zelt remarked. "That evening I went to check on it and it was looking, turning its head around and seemed very alert. I'm thinking this is a miracle and when I went to close the box it flew right over the top of my shoulder and landed on top of my tennis racket." 

Zelt said he nicknamed the owl TBT after that, short for Tiny But Tough, and made plans to release it the next day. Calling up a wildlife photographer friend from Canim Lake, named Mernie Senchuk, to help in the release the two headed out to the general area where he found the owl, though they made sure to stay well away from the highway. 

"I opened the box and pulled it out and it literally sat on my hand for about five seconds. It was almost like a thank you or farewell and then it just flew off really strong and far off into the bushes," Zelt remarked. "We were unbelievably impressed it was back where it belonged. It really seems like a miracle, I have no idea how it survived that impact. It was a beautiful ending, for sure." 

Over the last few days since releasing TBT, Zelt said he's seen a Northern Pygmy Owl near the same area and he believes it is now back to its usual "risky business." While he's happy with the outcome, Zelt said this story illustrates the importance of keeping an eye out for owls around dawn and dusk near roads. Senchuk herself told him driving back from the release she had to slam on the brakes when another pygmy owl flew out in front of her. 

"(People) should be aware when they're driving near dawn and dusk there are a lot of owls this year. Quite a few people I connect with on social media or birding sites are all saying the same thing. I think it's the low snow load we have combined with the low weather. They truly are everywhere this year and we need to be a little extra cautious and give them their space."

The Boko Haram Suicide Bomber Who Survived

One Survivor's Story - Boko Haram

Halima at her residence in Bol, Chad. Boko Haram sent her out as a suicide bomber together with six others.

She didn't trigger her explosive device, but the others did and she lost both her legs in the explosion.

Till Mayer
Global Societies

With just a few meters left to go before reaching her village, Halima can hardly stand it. The 20-year-old quickens her pace when she sees the first huts, ecstatic to be back home, even if only for a brief visit. Her gait is a bit unsteady -- after all, it's not easy to walk through fine sand on two prosthetic legs.

Halima doesn't come often to the Lake Chad island of Gomerom Doumou, which lies at the southern edge of the Sahara and straddles the borders of Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria. It takes an hour and a half to travel by boat from the small town of Bol in Chad to Halima's home island, weaving through a maze of small islands and floating grass carpets.

Halima says she had a good childhood on Gomerom Doumou and she loves this bit of land, where time seems to have stood still, with its fine sand and trees that provide shade from the midday sun. With the huts made of mudbricks, wood and reeds -- and the cattle with their huge horns.

Friends of hers met Halima (center) on the beach and they walked to the village together.

Till Mayer

This tranquil life ended the day she had to follow her husband to the camps of the Boko Haram terrorist group -- and her own life nearly ended a couple of years later as a suicide bomber. She survived, but the explosion ripped off both her legs. One could forgive Halima for being furious with this village and with her family. But she no longer is.

Halima runs her hand over the wooden fence of her parents' home. But she is greeted by silence. No one from her family appears to be in the village today. Residents are often away for days, or even weeks, at a time - fishing on the lake or moving their cattle to parts of the island where grazing is better.

In the center of the village, Halima's former neighbors are sitting in the shade. They greet Mahamat Boka and her small delegation with a nod of the head. The group includes the mayor of Bol, who also works as a teacher and is instructing Halima in reading and writing, and Eli Sabuwanka, a staff member of the aid organization Humanity & Inclusion. The group arranged for Halima's prostheses.

The young woman also sits in the shade, takes off her prostheses and lays them down next to her. The stumps of her legs are aching; she has been on the move the entire day.

Halima, 20, has had to learn to come to terms with what happened to her and accept the loss of both her legs.

Till Mayer

Halima was married off at the age of 14. No one asked the girl if that's what she wanted. Her husband was only a few years older than her, and he joined the terror group Boko Haram, just like many other inhabitants of the islands on Lake Chad. A lack of prospects back home renders them vulnerable to Boko Haram and its promises to introduce harsh Sharia law and sweep aside rampant corruption.

For years, Boko Haram has been waging a violent campaign to establish an Islamic theocracy in the predominantly Muslim northeastern region of Nigeria, not far from Halima's home island. Over 27,000 people have died from attacks carried out by the terror organization during the past nine years, and 1.8 million people have been displaced.

Shortly after her marriage, Halima had to accompany her husband to the Boko Haram camps. Their first stop was a small settlement in Cameroon. "It was terrible there. There was hardly anything to eat," she says, and her husband was away most of the time with the other militants. Then came the order to leave for Nigeria.

Halima recounts how they marched through the bush for days on end, plagued by thirst and hunger, and how newborns didn't survive the journey. "The mothers simply had to leave their dead children by the roadside," she says, gazing down at the ground. She remained with Boko Haram until Dec. 22, 2015 -- the day of the attack.

'If You Don't Go, We'll Kill You'

Halima had already related her story in the community center in Bol, where she now lives, her teacher Mahamat Boka telling much of the harrowing story as Halima nodded to confirm his account. Occasionally, she would jump in to explain things in more detail. When the story turns to her selection as a "kamikaze," she jumps in and says: "Actually, my husband should have gone, but he didn't want to." Anger briefly flares in Halima's eyes, then she seems absent for a moment.

Halima at her residence in Bol, Chad. Boko Haram sent her out as a suicide bomber together with six others. She didn't trigger her explosive device, but the others did and she lost both her legs in the explosion.

She is profoundly devout, and she was always the first to arrive for the Koran lessons in Nigeria. But then, the marabout -- an Islamic holy man -- told her that she would go straight to Paradise if she became a "kamikaze." Halima, though, didn't believe that a suicide bombing could be the will of God. Still a teenager at the time, she loved life and was quick to laugh.

"If you don't go, we'll kill you," the Boko Haram men told her. On seven different occasions, Halima tried to escape, she says, but she was caught each time. After the last failed attempt, one of the militants told her: If you flee again, we'll slaughter you like an animal."

Then came the day when they were sent out, four men and two other women. Halima had hoped she might be able to use this opportunity to escape, but she and the others were drugged. "It was like I was only half aware of what was going on," she recalls. The explosive devices were packed in knapsacks and bags, Halima was carrying hers in a plastic bag. Some of the others had suicide belts strapped to their bodies.

Rickety wooden boats ply the waters of Lake Chad.

Till Mayer

They traveled that way across the lake toward Chad, an arduous, three-day journey. When sand crunched under the hull, they knew that they had finally reached the mainland. They had been ordered to set off their bombs on market day in Iga, near the small town of Bol. "It was dark when we went ashore in Chad," says Halima, but village guards discovered the group as they tried to make their way forward under the cover of darkness.

"Then they surrounded us," says Halima. At that moment, she was a short distance away from the group, praying. Her plastic bag full of explosives was with the others - who detonated their bombs when they realized they were encircled. Halima was the only one who survived, though the explosion ripped off both her legs. Another member of the group had his head torn off in the blast. None of the villagers died, but some were injured by shrapnel.

Saved by Those She Was Supposed to Kill

The villagers saved Halima, even though she was one of the "kamikazes." She suffered severe blood loss and it's something of a miracle that she managed to survive the first hours after the explosion.

"Many people in Bol today know my story and are good to me," says Halima. She also received support from the United Nations and aid organizations. She gradually had to learn to accept her disabled body, come to terms with what she had experienced and control her emotions.

But the young woman also has a goal. "I'm determined to learn how to read and write well," she says. Humanity & Inclusion staff member Fanjanirina Ratsiferana says: "I met her when she was dragging herself on her stumps to an elementary school for lessons." Now Halima has prostheses and, with support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF), is being taught at a small, modest private school. She won't be returning to her home island for the time being.

Halima is now learning to read and write. She believes that education is the best weapon against Boko Haram.

Till Mayer

Very few people on Gomerom Doumou can read and write. "Our village has to develop and engage in trade. It needs a proper school with enough teachers," says Halima during her visit to the island. She knows that only if progress comes to her village will men from there stop joining Boko Haram, women will no longer be abducted, and girls will no longer be married against their will.

Then it's time to go and her old neighbors fetch a donkey cart to help Halima make her way back to the boat. The 20-year-old savors every moment in her home village, and as the boat engine roars, she buries her face in her hands.

The boat picks up speed and eventually, other islands block the view of Gomerom Doumou. Halima lies down on the rough boards at the bottom of the boat and falls asleep, completely exhausted.