Ayoub Ben Nesnes, a 26-year-old Moroccan influencer, has been taken into custody in Martil following a furious backlash from social media viewers, animal rights campaigners, and religious figures across the country.
The Shocking Video
The YouTuber, popular as Ben Nesnes online, shared a video of himself cooking a dog and eating it. He claimed the video was intended as a protest against soaring livestock prices during the Muslim festival of Eid. In the video, watched by around 200,000 people before being removed from the platform, Nesnes presented the dog as an alternative Eid sacrifice before roasting and eating its meat. He stated that he could not afford a traditional Eid sacrifice because of the rising cost of sheep, with prices having risen sharply, some animals costing more than twice Morocco's minimum monthly wage of around £260. During Eid al-Adha, sheep are ritually sacrificed, but droughts in Morocco have led to a reduction in livestock, increasing meat prices.
In another video shared later, Nesnes insisted the dog had already been killed in a road accident. He repeatedly denied killing the animal himself. "The dog that appeared in the video, I didn't kill it. I found it dead on the side of the road after it was hit in a traffic accident. I didn't kill it, so stop saying that I did. Everything is documented, and there's proof," he said.
Immense Backlash
The shocking footage prompted three animal welfare groups to file formal complaints against him. Mohamed Amzian, president of an association that protects stray dogs, accused Ben Nesnes of promoting animal cruelty and encouraging the consumption of dog meat. The Moroccan Society for the Protection of Animals and Nature said abuse of animals could not be excused as social media entertainment.
Prominent preacher Hamza al-Khalidi also condemned the video. He said it offended believers and reiterated that dog meat is strictly forbidden under Islamic law.
Estimates suggest that there are around three million stray dogs in Morocco. After the outrage, authorities tracked the content creator down to the northern town of Martil on a warrant issued by police in Temara, near Rabat. He has been charged with offences including insulting Islam and animal cruelty, as per local reports. Prosecutors said Ben Nesnes will remain in El Arjat prison, on the outskirts of Rabat, while he awaits trial.
However, this is not the first time Nesnes has attracted controversy among his 2.2 million followers. Previously, he drew attention online by posting videos of himself eating snake and crocodile meat. The influencer also sparked outrage after swimming ashore on the Spanish-controlled Chafarinas Islands, which Morocco claims sovereignty over. He later posted footage of the visit despite strict military security measures being in place.
China's Dog Meat Festival
Eating dogs is an increasingly rare practice around the world as many parts of the planet have banned dog meat and many people see dogs as pets rather than food.
While Morocco is enraged at dog killing and eating, China's highly controversial Yulin Lychee and Dog Meat Festival is expected to go ahead next week. The event, initially established in 2010, is held annually during the summer solstice and is heavily protested against, with many describing the festival as cruel. Vendors have claimed that the dogs are killed humanely, but according to a report by the BBC, the animals 'are killed brutally and publicly, and are sometimes beaten to death or cooked while still alive'. The 10-day festival will begin on Sunday (June 21).
