Tehran, Iran Unleashes Anti-Pet Policy and Bans Dog Walking in Public

And it’s not just parks and sidewalks, either. Rahimi further explained that it’s now also “forbidden to drive dogs around in cars and, if this is observed, serious police action will be taken against the car owners in question.”

The controversy surrounding dog ownership in Iran dates back to the 1979 Islamic Revolution; it’s said that some owners even have had their dogs confiscated. In the view of Iran’s Islamic authorities, owning a pet dog is a Western custom, and the animals are considered “unclean.”

Since 2010, the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance has banned the media from publishing any advertisement for pets or pet-related products. According the The New York Times, in 2014, a law was passed by hard liners to “increased the fines for dog owners to the equivalent of $2,500, as well as killing the animal and 60 lashes for the owner.”

It’s unclear where authorities expect people to walk their dogs, if not in public, but we wouldn’t be surprised if people have already found loopholes in this bizarre law.

H/T: BBC News