Iran expands the ban on walking dogs beyond Tehran

Iranian officials have expanded a ban on the dog from strolling through the removal of cities across the country, citing public order and concerns about health and safetyS

The ban – which reflects the 2019 police order, which forbade dogs from going to the capital, Tehran – has been expanded to at least 18 other cities last week. Transporting dogs to vehicles is also outlawed.

The ownership of the dogs was frowning in Iran after the Islamic Revolution of 1979, with dogs being seen as “unclean” by the authorities and heritage by Western cultural influence.

But despite efforts to discourage dogs, dog ownership is increasing, especially among young people, and it is seen as a form of rebellion against the restrictive Iranian regime.

Cities, including Isfahan and Kerman, have introduced prohibitions in recent days, according to AFP news agency.

An employee of the Western city of Ilam, where a ban was implemented on Sunday, said that “legal action” would be taken against people who violated the new rules, according to local media.

However, the application of restrictions in the past has been spots, while many dog ​​owners continue to go around their dogs in a public place in Tehran and other parts of Iran.

There is no national law to ban the ownership of dogs honestly, but prosecutors often issue local restrictions that are applied by the police.

“Walking dogs is a threat to public health, peace and comfort,” Abbas Najafi, prosecutor of the western city of Hameman, in front of the state newspaper Iran.

Owners are sometimes arrested and dogs are confiscated for going to the public.

Many have set out to walk their dogs in secluded areas at night or to drive them around to avoid discovering.

Politicians in the Islamic regime consider the ownership of pets to be non -Islamic. Many religious scholars look at pitting dogs or come into contact with their saliva as “Naji” or ritually unclean.

Iranian Ayatola Ali Hamenei’s supreme leader has previously described the ownership of dogs – except for the purposes of the herd, hunting and security – as “reproach”.

In 2021, 75 legislators condemned the ownership of dogs as a “destructive social problem”, which “can gradually change Iranian and Islamic lifestyle.”

The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guides in Iran banned pets or pet advertisements in 2010. And in 2014, there was a pursuit of a fine and even the breakdown of dogs in parliament, although the bill did not pass.

Following the recent repression, critics claim that police should focus on public safety at a time of increasing concern about violent crime, not targeting dog owners and restricting personal freedoms.

The ownership of dogs, refuting Iran’s mandatory laws, visiting underground parties and drinking alcohol have long been forms of a quiet rebellion against Iran’s theocratic regime.