Have you heard of dog horror stories abroad? E-mail tom.lawrence@mailonline.co.uk
Dogs are raped by humans on the streets, rounded up and killed in a move to 'clean' cities and their owners are performing brutal at-home amputations - those are some of the horrors unfolding on the streets of holiday hotspots.
The sought after Mediterranean locations of Egypt, Morocco and Turkey are visited by thousands of Brits each year - but at the same time hundreds of animals are mistreated, abused and even killed.
Behind the beaches, bars and resorts is a darker side that holidaymakers do not often see.
Amid the horror, there are some devoted volunteers who are trying to save some of the animals living in dire conditions.
Georgia Tesfaye, 30, has started rescuing dogs from Egypt after hearing gruesome stories of abuse, forced amputations and even rapes of animals in the country.
After working with dogs from a young age, Georgia said working to help rescue dogs from Egypt gave her life a 'purpose' and set up her charity Four Paws One Heart in 2024.
She said the abuse faced by animals in Egypt is 'surreal', with hundreds in need of rescuing.
Georgia claims she has seen dogs that have been hit by cars, poisoned, beaten, thrown form buildings, being hung, raped, used for dog fighting and being electrocuted.
In one horrific example, she rescued a Golden Retriever called Hope which they believed had been raped.
She said: 'Hope was lifeless and she had been thrown on the street, it appeared she had been raped by a human.
'She had an infection of her uterus as well as sepsis and her organs were all failing.
'Hope was in a critical condition for a very long time.
'Unfortunately we have seen that this is a common occurrence for the animals here.
'The day after finding Hope, we found another Golden Retriever called Daisy in the exact same location.
'She was lifeless, with the same injuries and completely soul broken.
'Her injuries and organ failure were so severe that she had to be put down.
'It was absolutely heartbreaking.
'A week later there was reports of a cat being seen raped by a man, in the street, in the same location we found Hope and Daisy.'
Hope has been lucky. She had overcome her illness and has started to recover from the mental abuse she faced.
Georgia described her as a 'miracle'.
The 10-year-old is now ready to be adopted and find a family who look after her.
In another heartbreaking case, a Malinois called Rocky has his leg cut off by his owners who refused veterinary treatment.
Georgia said: 'We believe he had been used as bait for a very long time.
'When we rescued him we found old injuries from being attacked, he also had bite wounds including his ear which had been bitten off.
'However the most horrific part is that his front leg had been cut off with a machete
'The bone was protruding out and its clear he had been this way for some days.
'We believe his leg was injured from a fight, and instead of seeking veterinary treatment they cut his leg off, as this is a common occurrence.
'A lot of people don't seek veterinary care for their dogs, they take it into their own hands or they simply don't treat the dogs at all.
'Despite what Rocky faced, he is the most loving, trusting, affectionate sweet boy.
'He absolutely adores us, he really trusts us.
'He has so much love to give and it would be a dream if he found a family of his own.
'We have been very luckily offered a prosthetic leg to be made for free for him in the UK in Norfolk. So we are desperate for him to find a foster or adopter in the Norfolk area so that his leg can be made. And his new life can begin forgetting his horrid past.'
Georgia and her charity rescue animals from a dog market in Cairo where the pets are often sold for fighting and breeding.
Other animals including cats, monkeys, birds and reptiles are kept in cages, or tied up in chains under the burning sun.
Georgia said many of the dogs which she rescues are on the 'brink of death' when they arrive to her.
Still in its early stages, her charity is currently only able to rescue one dog at a time, due to the cost of veterinary care for each one which comes into her ownership.
She added: 'We wish to rescue every single animal from the market, and if we could, we really would.
'But we just wouldn't be able to afford all their care, or have anywhere to put the 100s of dogs. Its so cruel, and our soul and heart rips to shreds every time we have to leave the others behind.'
Egypt is not the only popular holiday destination with questionable animal welfare.
A top conservationist condemned Morocco over the reported slaughter of three million street dogs ahead of the 2030 World Cup.
Reports suggest thousands of stray dogs have already been massacred in venues across the North African nation, with fears the killings are escalating
Jane Goodall, a prominent animal rights campaigner, has written to FIFA demanding immediate action, accusing the organisation of turning a blind eye to what she calls 'a horrific act of barbarity'
Campaigners claim that the animals could be killed in a brutal 'clean-up' operation to make cities more presentable to visiting football fans.
Reports suggest thousands of stray dogs have already been massacred in venues across the North African nation, with fears the killings are escalating.
Jane Goodall, a prominent animal rights campaigner, wrote to the international football association demanding immediate action, accusing the organisation of turning a blind eye to what she calls 'a horrific act of barbarity'.
In the letter addressed to FIFA's Secretary General Mattias Grafström, Goodall said she was left appalled to see that Moroccan authorities were engaging in the large-scale killings - an initiative which allegedly stopped in August 2024.
'I am equally appalled to learn from the IAWPC - International Animal Coalition that you have been presented with detailed dossiers documenting these horrific acts, most of which are conducted in the most brutal and cruel fashion imaginable, and yet appear to have ignored them,'
she continued.
The animal rights activist then questioned how football fans around the world would react if they knew of the brutality the helpless animals were facing in the run up to the games.
'You must surely be aware of how football fans around the world - many of whom are also animal lovers - will react when they learn of this?'
Speaking to the Mail in 2023, Salima 'Sally' Kadaoui, founder and owner of SFT Animal Sanctuary in Tangier, said: 'They are even killing the stray dogs that we have vaccinated, neutered and tagged.'
Kadaoui revealed that a dog killer is actually a paid occupation in the country.
'They are poisoning them and you can hear shooting. Not only during the day, but at night and in the afternoon.
'Can you imagine a dog getting shot in the stomach and agonizing for two to three days until he dies. It’s just evil,'Kadaoui said.
The popular holiday hotspot of Turkey has also now been boycotted by some Brits over treatment of dogs.
Last year millions of stray dogs in Turkey were rounded up and killed after the country passed a new law calling for them to be put down.
Pictures and videos shared on social media have shown the scale of the 'massacre', with people reportedly hunting down and killing the animals after the legislation was passed at the end of July.
The law, drawn up by President Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AK Party, was introduced amid concerns about attacks, road accidents and rabies in the country which has an estimated 4 million stray dogs.
The law aims to remove dogs from streets and put them into shelters but states any showing aggressive behaviour or untreatable diseases will be put down.
The country currently has 322 animal shelters with capacity for 105,000 dogs according to bill far short what would be needed round up number strays which led many think large numbers would be put down.
Residents Turkish towns cities often take care street animals putting out makeshift shelters food water them.
One survey showed less than 3% people supported putting them down while nearly 80% were favour dog shelters.