When Iran banned dog walking in 2019, few dog owners were all that worried about the order. But after years of lax enforcement, officials in recent days have pledged to crack down, according to the state news media.
Prosecutors in at least 20 cities cited public health risks and threats to public safety in announcing the heightened enforcement of the bans, which include both dog walking and driving with dogs.
“Dog walking is a clear crime,” Mohammad Hossein Doroudi, the prosecutor in Mashhad, told reporters on Monday as he announced that city’s plan, according to IRNA, a state-owned news outlet.
Iran’s government has also long seen pet dogs as a sign of Western cultural influence. And much of the opposition to dogs in Iran stems from religious beliefs, with dogs considered to be “najes,” or impure, in Islam.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, had issued a fatwa, or religious order, explaining the logic: A dog’s saliva or hair would render anything it touched — like a person, clothing or a surface — impure.
“Prayer is invalid with the presence of dog hair,” his fatwa read.
Some Iranian veterinarians and pet surgeons, like Dr. Damoon Ansari, are skeptical of the recent moves.
“Each summer, new plans emerge to regulate citizens’ morality or lifestyles,” Dr. Ansari, who is based in Tehran, said in a phone interview. “This year, the focus is on dogs and dog walking.
“The popularity of pet ownership has surged in recent years,” Dr. Ansari said, pointing to a large number of veterinary clinics in cities across the country.
“Pets, including dogs, have become integral to Iranian family culture, even in religious households,” he said, adding, “Whether officials approve or not, they cannot eliminate the millions of pets in Iran.”
But even if officials are not planning to take away all pets, they are certainly trying to restrict their presence in public spaces.
Mr. Doroudi, the prosecutor in Mashhad, said that enforcement had lapsed over the past two years, but that officials now planned to be far more strict. He said that violators in Mashhad, Iran’s second-most populous city, would first receive a warning and that they could be fined or their dogs could be confiscated if they failed to comply.
“Dog walking is considered a threat to health and is considered a criminal behavior under the name of harassment of women and children,” Mr. Doroudi said, according to IRNA.
Some in Iran share the skepticism about dogs as pets, and while some tolerate the presence of guard dogs, they see the “man’s best friend” narrative as a step too far.
When the 2019 ban was announced, Hamidreza Taraghi, a hard-line politician, said in an interview with The New York Times that increasing numbers of people were complaining to the police about dogs.
“We are experiencing economic difficulties, but the dog lovers are spending billions of dollars each year for dog food,” he said. “We need that money for more important things.”
But many Iranians love their pooches. Speaking of her ShihTzu terrier, Teddy, Asal Bahrierad, a Tehran resident, said at the time, “No one, not even the police, can take him away from me.” She also said then that the ban was not being taken all that seriously. “The police are actually very friendly to us,” she said of her daily walks with Teddy.
Some even view walking a dog in public as a quiet rebellion against the Iranian government, which has long tried to enforce an Islamic lifestyle and restrict citizens’ civil liberties.
The efforts to restrict dogs’ presence in public cover cities like Tabriz, in western Iran, and Kerman in the east, according to the state-owned Iran newspaper.
In Isfahan, in the center of the country, the city’s prosecutor, Seyed Mohammad Moussavian, said he had ordered law enforcement officers to “seize violating vehicles” and “seal unauthorized related shops and veterinary offices.”
In Hamedan, in western Iran, the provincial prosecutor’s office said that walking dogs or driving with them was “against religious and social values,” and “considered a threat to public health,” according to IRNA. Abbas Najafi, the prosecutor, said that dog walking was “considered a threat to the health, comfort and tranquillity of citizens,” according to IRNA.
He pledged “serious action” against violators, IRNA reported, and said that the police had been ordered to “systematically and physically seize vehicles” of anyone caught driving with a dog.
In Tehran, dog owners appear to be undeterred by efforts to restrict their dogs, a stance that is perhaps evidenced by the growing number of veterinarians in the Iranian capital. About 25 years ago, the city had only one pet clinic, and it was staffed by trainee veterinarians. Now, there are dozens.
And Dr. Ansari, the veterinarian, is not worried. Clinics are still operational, he said, and people are willing to do whatever it takes to protect — and pick up after — their beloved pets.
“Citizens are accustomed to such plans and know to keep a low profile until enforcement eases,” he said. And, he said, pet ownership has continued to grow — despite the restrictions.
“This trend is unstoppable,” he said.
Amelia Nierenberg is a breaking news reporter for The Times in London, covering international news.
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