Iran bans dog walking in over 20 cities

Iranian judicial authorities over the past week expanded bans on dog walking to several more cities, bringing the total to at least 25 cities, the U.K.-headquartered news outlet Iran International reported. The restrictions were first put in place in the capital of Tehran in 2019 and have since expanded. No national law bans the practice, but provincial prosecutors and judicial authorities have used local directives and police orders to put a stop to dog walking, according to Iran International.

Public prosecutor Mozaffar Rezaei announced a ban in northwest Iran’s Ardabil province on June 6. He said people who walked dogs in parks or public spaces, or carried them in their vehicles, would face consequences, according to Iran International. A similar ban enacted recently in the Mazandaran province also extended to guilds and unions, according to the Iranian Labor News Agency.

Why ban dog walking? Rezaei said the Ardabil ban came in response to financial and physical damage caused by dogs, as well as religious and cultural considerations. Dog walking reflects a Western lifestyle, he said, according to Iran International. Other authorities professed similar reasons for the bans, usually citing several articles of Iran’s penal code as a legal basis, including public morality and health laws. Some Islamic clerics consider petting dogs or coming into contact with their saliva ritually impure, according to Arab News. Authorities have also used Article 40 of the Iranian constitution, which prohibits harm to others, to justify the bans, according to Iran International.

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