Dog walking in Iran
In Iran, dog walking is banned in at least 11 cities, largely due to interpretations of the country's official religion, Shia Islam. This has led to criticism, resistance, arrests, and fines from many Iranians. In some cases, municipalities in major cities like Tehran have killed dogs.
Background
In Iran, there is no specific law for controlling and keeping pets, including dogs. In addition to the lack of strict rules for keeping them, dog walking has not been criminalized. The lack of culture and responsibility on the part of a large number of pet owners, not picking up waste, untying dogs, passing by or entering children's playgrounds, ignoring keeping them in apartments, the lack of strict control rules, places for their use, and dealings based on taste rather than law, are among the problems in this area. In Iran, the guard dog Dobermann is no different from the small dog Golden Retriever because neither of them has a law.
Rules
The regime's judicial system has announced a ban on dog walking in some provinces of the country. A review of the prosecutor's orders in various provinces shows that the ban will apply to public roads, parks and vehicles. Keeping dogs or pets has not been banned in general. However, it is not clear how a dog kept at home should be transported to a veterinary clinic. According to statistics published by a state news agency last year, one in 10 Iranians currently owns a pet. Dogs and cats are the most popular. The issue of combating dog walking through law enforcement and judicial channels is at least more than a decade old. Combating dog walking was part of the social security plan in the early 1990s. After that, this ban was announced at several points and there were confrontations, but usually the aforementioned plans do not continue. On the other hand, the increase in keeping pets over the past 15 years shows that these plans do not necessarily lead to results.
Reaction
People's complaints
Judicial authorities emphasize that numerous complaints from people on this issue have led to the announcement of a ban and upcoming actions. The experience of living in large cities shows that the interest of people from different social groups in keeping pets, including dogs, has increased, and of course, many of the obvious things related to this interest are not observed by them. Personal experiences in this area also show that people's protests against each other in this regard often lead to the discomfort of the animal owner. Not long ago, a picture went viral on social networks in which a girl put two pet dogs on a swing in a children's playground and took a picture of them. A picture with a loving text that was met with very strong reactions. On June 14, 2024, in a park in Mashhad, a security officer warned a person about his dog and severely beat the person in question.