Pet peeve

Iran said to ban dog walking in Tehran

Canines also barred from riding in cars; police chief reportedly warns defiant dog owners will be ‘dealt with severely’

A woman walks her dog past an anti-US mural painted on the wall of the former US Embassy in Tehran, May, 2018 (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A woman walks her dog past an anti-US mural painted on the wall of the former US Embassy in Tehran, May, 2018 (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iran is reportedly banning Tehran’s citizens from taking their dogs out for a walk and transporting them in their cars, as they could upset others and are considered unclean according to Islamic law.

The Iranian capital’s police chief, Hossein Rahimi, issued a stern warning to dog owners this week when he told the local YJC news agency in no uncertain terms that officers would “deal severely” with people walking their dogs in public.

He said Iranian courts had given police the power to act against dog owners who did not comply, as the pets caused “panic and anxiety” to other city dwellers.

Rahimi was unequivocal too about allowing dogs to be transported in vehicles, and said that “police will seriously confront dog owners who let their dogs ride in their cars.”

Dog ownership is not uncommon in Iran, particularly among Tehran’s middle classes, but some Islamists consider dogs to be impure and say owning one is a manifestation of Western culture that the Islamic Republic’s leaders shun.

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