A West Leeds woman has delivered a hard-hitting address in Parliament over the inhuman killing of dogs – and revealed what she hopes is a major breakthrough in talks with football’s governing body FIFA.
Debbie Wilson, who fronts the International Animal Welfare Protection Coalition (IAWPC), travelled from her home in West Leeds to Westminster on Tuesday to give a keynote speech at the influential APDAWG (All-Party Dog Advisory Welfare Group) meeting.
Debbie said there had been ‘significant’ progress in the coalition’s negotiations with football’s global governing body, telling MPs and peers: “The IAWPC and FIFA are in the very early stages of discussing a FIFA-sponsored Humane Education and CNVR programme across the six 2030 tournament stadium sites.
“Even if nothing has been confirmed yet, the IAWPC welcome FIFA’s positive expression of interest in potentially supporting this programme. The IAWPC are keen to work with FIFA on what could be a groundbreaking project.”
She hopes the announcement marks the strongest indication yet that FIFA may formally back humane solutions to the mass killing of dogs in Morocco ahead of the 2030 World Cup, a crisis the IAWPC has fought to expose on the world stage.
Debbie also used her speech to give Parliament a sharp overview of the IAWPC’s rise.
Formed just over a year ago, the coalition led by veteran animal rights campaigner Les Ward MBE, now spans more than 80 animal welfare organisations across the world, from the RSPCA and Dogs Trust to PETA.
Their mission is to stop the widespread killing of free-roaming dogs and cats in Morocco, where animals are routinely shot, poisoned or rounded up in the run-up to major international events such as AFCON and now the 2030 World Cup.
Debbie told MPs that the coalition has organised worldwide protests, presented evidence to FIFA, and built international pressure for a humane, science-based alternative: CNVR, Catch, Neuter, Vaccinate, Return.
The IAWPC also issued a call to action, calling on members of the public and parliamentarians to write to the Moroccan Government to denounce the killing and call for humane, and sustainable solutions (CNVR).
To find out more about the IAWPC go to www.iawpc.org.
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