Going on vacation is often a roll of the dice. Although you may have heard positive things about the place you are visiting, you aren’t ever truly sure about what you will find when you arrive. While most of the time you will have a fantastic experience, there will now and then be a trip that leaves you with a sour taste in your mouth.
One travel forum user recently visited Morocco, and to say he didn’t enjoy it would be the understatement of the century. Let’s find out why his experience in North Africa was so bad.
The Worst Place He’s Ever Been
The original poster (OP) starts by stating that he has been to 40 countries since last February but that Morocco is by far the worst place he has been to and that the animal abuse in the country completely overshadowed his experience.
Explaining why, he says that kittens and puppies litter the streets in a state of exhaustion and that there are often lines of dead animals on the roads. Outside the place he was staying, there were eight kittens, all of whom were blind and starving.
Since returning home, he has discovered numerous shootings, burnings, and poisonings of these animals as the country attempts to clean up its streets ahead of a bid to host the Soccer World Cup. Instead of caring for these animals and finding them a home, the government is killing them.
It isn’t just stray dogs and cats that OP was appalled by, either. He says he saw camels being forced to sit with their legs folded on the floor, wrapped in blue rope. They are forced to sit in the baking sun all day to take tourists around parts of the country.
Additionally, horses and donkeys are treated even worse and work until they pass away. OP says that every donkey he saw was severely malnourished and was effectively just skin and bone.
OP says that he isn’t an “ignorant Westerner” who is against animals being used for food, but he is against animals being neglected beyond belief. He took to Reddit to make everyone else aware of how bad the situation is to stop others from experiencing the same horrors as he did.
An Appalled Community Responds
The post proved very popular, with nearly 1000 people commenting on it in 24 hours. While some people were appalled to hear about OP’s experience, others believed that he was burying his head in the sand if he thought Morocco was the only place in the world that treated animals poorly.
One user said: “I’m glad you are talking about this. Unfortunately, not enough people notice the welfare of livestock and animals used for labor. People tend to notice cats and dogs but usually overlook labor animals.”
Meanwhile, someone else who had also recently visited the country commented: “I saw the same thing. Kids hitting animals with sticks for no reason and adults laughing watching them do it. Definitely won’t be returning.”
Someone made the point that animal welfare is pretty bad on all continents. They said: “Thanks for the heads up. Thailand was one for me; I’m disgusted by the amount of abuse in Thailand and the sheer number of tourists that engage in it. Elephant rides, Tiger temples, Monkey Circuses.”
Has This Ever Happened To You?
Has this put your off traveling to Morocco? Is there anywhere you’ve ever traveled to that you would never return to? If so, let us know where and why in the comments.
Source: Reddit.
