A foul smell swept through several Casablanca neighborhoods on Friday morning, leaving residents wondering where it was coming from before a city council official pointed to livestock ships docking at the city’s port.
The official, speaking to Le360 by telephone, said vessels bringing cattle and other livestock from countries including Brazil and Paraguay were largely responsible for the stench.
Some of the animals spend more than six weeks at sea before reaching Casablanca, the official said, with waste and droppings building up in confined spaces aboard the ships.
The smell of animal feed adds to the problem, particularly when the vessels arrive at the port and begin unloading their cargo.
Depending on the direction of the wind, the odors can drift from the harbor towards residential neighborhoods, leaving people struggling with the smell.
Imported cattle at the Port of Casablanca.
It is not the first time Casablanca residents have complained of such conditions.
According to the official, the problem tends to recur when livestock shipments arrive and unloading operations coincide with winds carrying the odors inland.
The latest complaints have raised fresh concerns about how livestock imports are handled at the port and what can be done to prevent the smell from reaching nearby homes.
