Iranian authorities crack down on dog walking, call it ‘threat to social order’

Iranian media sources reported that a 2019 restriction imposed on walking dogs in Tehran will be expanded to other cities in the country, citing concerns about “public health and tranquility.”

The ban, which echoes a 2019 police directive prohibiting dog walking in Tehran, was extended on Sunday to the western city of Ilam, according to the reports. At least 24 additional cities have imposed similar bans in recent days, including Isfahan in the center of the country and Kerman in the south.

Owning and walking dogs have been contentious issues in Iran since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, although there is no explicit law prohibiting dog ownership. Nonetheless, many clerics in Iran view petting dogs or being in contact with animal saliva as najis — ritually impure. Some other senior officials regard pet dogs as a symbol of Western cultural influence.

From time to time, local authorities have imposed bans on walking dogs in public places or transporting them in vehicles, as part of a broader campaign to discourage dog ownership. However, enforcement of these restrictions is inconsistent, as many dog owners continue to walk their pets in Tehran and other cities across Iran.

What are the legal consequences of the order?

The reformist newspaper Etemad reported that an official in Ilam stated that “legal action will be taken against violators,” without elaborating what the action would be. 

On Saturday, Etemad wrote that the latest measures aim to “maintain public order, ensure safety, and protect public health.”

 “Walking dogs poses a threat to public health, tranquility, and comfort,” the prosecutor of the city of Hamadan, Abbas Najafi, told the newspaper. 

In 2021, over 70 lawmakers condemned pet ownership as a “destructive social problem” and claimed that it could “gradually alter the Iranian and Islamic way of life.”

In 2017, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, said that he believed that keeping a dog was a non-Muslim practice. 

“Keeping dogs for purposes other than herding, hunting, or guarding is considered improper,” he said. “If this practice resembles that of non-Muslims, promotes their culture, or causes disturbance to neighbors, it is considered prohibited.”