Looking After Morocco's Beasts of Burden -- SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad) was founded in the 1920s by two British women, Kate Hosali and her daughter Nina, who were visiting North Africa and appalled at the maltreatment of the region's animals. Today, the British-registered charity operates 19 veterinary centers and 21 mobile clinics throughout North and West Africa and the Middle East, and treats more than 300,000 animals annually.
SPANA has been working in Morocco since 1925, and today this work entails providing free veterinary care to working animals and a mobile veterinary unit that regularly travels to the High Atlas village of Imlil to care for tourist-trekking mules.
In Marrakech, SPANA operates an educational center with an animal refuge and veterinary hospital, which is open to the public. The center, SPANA's largest in the country, has information about their work; interactive displays showing the link between the environment, animals, and humans; and a steady stream of patients in its busy clinic.
The center issues licenses to calèche drivers and implants a microchip into each horse's neck to effectively track its medical history. Unhealthy horses are issued a ticket, and a second consecutive ticket results in the horse being admitted as a patient -- ensuring only the fit are working on the street. An annual ceremony each May applauds those who care for their horses. This is a great day to visit the center, but visitors can drop in at any time. The center is located in the suburbs at Cité Mohammadi, Daoudiat. All calèche drivers should know where it is. Most staff are non-English speaking, so to ensure that Mohammed Faifaite, the highly likeable English-speaking technician, is available, call tel. 024/303110, or contact the center via e-mail by visiting www.spana.org.
