Tehran made public dog walking illegal as part of a long standing campaign against dog ownership in the Islamic Republic, BBC news reported on Tuesday.
It is now illegal to drive with your dog in your car and to walk dogs in parks and public spaces, members of the Iranian Young Journalists Club were told by Tehran Police Chief Hossein Rahimi.
Rahimi said that the reason for the new rules is that dogs create distress among the general public.
In 2010 media was banned from airing ads endorsing pet related products of pets, Iranian parliament also debated the possibility of flogging dog owners in 2014.
Dogs are seen by some Muslims as unclean and while the ownership of dogs is not forbidden by Islam it’s not common among Muslims who don’t reside in the West. One of the reasons dogs are negatively viewed by the Iranian authorities is that owning dogs is seen as a sign of being supportive of Western values.
Cats, an animal allegedly admired by the prophet of Islam Muhammad, is seen as a clean animal and is a favorite pet among conservative Muslims.
Source » jpost