Whether dog, cat or budgerigar – many people enjoy pets. They are family members and friends. This is also the case in Iran. But pet owners could soon face legal consequences here.
Some things are forbidden in the Islamic Republic of Iran that are unproblematic in Germany and Europe. Alcohol, for example, or homosexuality. There are also strict dress codes.
A new law could soon be added in Iran. One that could potentially prohibit pet ownership.
The provision, according to the British BBC could soon be approved by the Iranian parliament, is said to be aimed at protecting the population – at least that’s what the title suggests: “Plan for the Protection of Public Rights from Harmful and Dangerous Animals”. 75 MEPs signed the draft.
Going for a walk in parks in the capital Tehran is already banned, according to the BBC. It was a measure to “protect the public”.
Penalties for “buying and selling, breeding and keeping” pets
According to the broadcaster, the draft law stipulates that pet ownership should be subject to a permit issued by a special committee. There would also be a minimum fine of around 790 euros for “importing, buying and selling, transporting, breeding and keeping” a range of animals, including common pets such as dogs, turtles, mice and rabbits. The animal will also be “confiscated”.
Even cats – and thus also the Persian cat, which at least in name originated there – would fall under the law.
The authors of the proposed law condemn the coexistence of humans with domesticated animals as a “destructive social problem”. AFP news agency reported. The phenomenon, they explain, could “gradually transform the Iranian and Islamic way of life” by “replacing human and family relationships with feelings and emotional relationships with animals.”
Hardly any resistance from parliamentarians in Iran against the law
The draft law for the ban on pets has been around since the end of 2021 – and even then it caused outrage. “My cat is not dangerous,” an owner of a pet supply store in Tehran told AFP in December.
And even now, the planned law is causing Iranians to shake their heads. Many fear for their beloved four-legged friends. “The debates around this law began more than a decade ago when a group of Iranian lawmakers tried to promote a law to confiscate all dogs and give them to zoos or leave them in deserts,” said Dr. Payam Mohebi, president of the Veterinarians’ Association of Iran and an opponent of the bill, the BBC.
Pet supply stores like this one in Tehran could face a tough time in Iran if the law comes
© ATTA KENARE / AFP
“They’ve changed that a few times over the years and even discussed corporal punishment for dog owners.” He considers the bill “embarrassing”. If Parliament passes the bill, generations to come will remember us as people who banned dogs because they are dogs and cats because they are cats.”
Despite the public outcry, few MPs are prepared to vigorously defend the bill. “I agree with the project in general, but I certainly disagree with some of its clauses,” the head of the parliament’s Judiciary Commission, Moussa Ghazanfarabadi, who signed the text, told AFP in December.
“It’s just a bill, but whether it succeeds is another matter,” he said.
Dogs as a sign of “Westernization” in Iran
Pets in Iran have not been a problem for decades, even the Shah’s family had dogs as pets, the BBC reports. But with the Islamic revolution in 1979, a lot changed for pets and their owners. According to the BBC, animals are considered unclean in Islamic tradition. In addition, in the eyes of the regime, dogs are a symbol of “Westernization,” which they want to prevent.
Iran is not the only Islamic country where dogs have a hard time. the Saudi Arabian Embassy in the USA writes on their website that you need permits and certificates to import pets. Dogs may only be used for hunting, surveillance and as guide dogs.
“Exotic and non-domestic animals are not allowed to enter the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia unless used for official government purposes. Dangerous and aggressive dogs such as Rottweilers and Pitbulls are not allowed to enter the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under any circumstances.”
Apparently, other religions also have problems with dogs. In 2019, several rabbis from the town of Elad near Tel Aviv signed an edict declaring all dogs bad and warning residents that their attitude would curse them, like the newspaper “The Jerusalem Post” reported. In the city of Holon, too, a rabbi spoke out against dog ownership. The Mediterranean metropolis of Tel Aviv, on the other hand, is one of the most dog-friendly cities in the world according to the “Jerusalem Post”.
Further source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs