Iran extends dog-walking ban to multiple cities | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Sunday
June 15, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
SUNDAY, JUNE 15, 2025
Iran extends dog-walking ban to multiple cities

World+Biz

TBS Report
09 June, 2025, 03:00 pm
Last modified: 09 June, 2025, 03:04 pm

Related News

  • Iran FM says Israel 'crossed a new red line' by attacking nuclear sites
  • Yemen's Houthis target Israel with ballistic missiles in coordination with Iran
  • US-Iran nuclear talks in Oman cancelled
  • Israel says attacks on Iran are nothing compared with what is coming
  • Who is Amir Hatami, the man to lead Iran's army after Israeli strikes kill top generals?

Iran extends dog-walking ban to multiple cities

Dog ownership has been frowned upon in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and has long been viewed as controversial by the Islamic regime, which considers dogs “unclean” and sees the practice as a Western cultural import

TBS Report
09 June, 2025, 03:00 pm
Last modified: 09 June, 2025, 03:04 pm
Transporting dogs in vehicles has also been outlawed. Photo: BBC
Transporting dogs in vehicles has also been outlawed. Photo: BBC

Iranian authorities have rolled out a dog-walking ban across several cities, further tightening restrictions on pet ownership under the guise of maintaining public order and safety.

According to a report by the BBC, the prohibition, first imposed in Tehran in 2019, has now been expanded to at least 18 other cities in the past week. In addition to walking dogs in public, transporting them in vehicles has also been outlawed.

Although there is no national law prohibiting dog ownership, local prosecutors often introduce region-specific restrictions that are enforced by law enforcement agencies.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

"Dog walking is a threat to public health, peace and comfort," Abbas Najafi, prosecutor of the western city of Hamedan, told state-run newspaper Iran.

In the western city of Ilam, where the ban came into effect on Sunday, local officials warned that "legal action" would be taken against those violating the new restrictions, according to local media reports.

Despite these limitations, enforcement has been inconsistent, particularly in the capital, where many residents continue to walk their dogs in public or transport them discreetly in cars. Some dog owners have resorted to taking their pets out at night or to remote areas to avoid police scrutiny.

Dog ownership has been frowned upon in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and has long been viewed as controversial by the Islamic regime, which considers dogs "unclean" and sees the practice as a Western cultural import. 

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has previously labelled dog ownership, aside from for hunting, herding, or guarding, as "reprehensible".

In 2021, 75 lawmakers described the trend as a "destructive social problem" that could "gradually change the Iranian and Islamic way of life".

The Islamic Republic's Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance banned advertisements for pets and pet-related products in 2010. A proposal in 2014 even sought to introduce fines and corporal punishment for dog walkers, though the bill ultimately failed to pass.

Religious scholars in Iran often deem contact with dogs or their saliva as najis - ritually impure under Islamic law.

Critics argue that the government should focus on addressing pressing issues such as violent crime instead of clamping down on dog owners and restricting personal freedoms

For many Iranians, particularly the youth, owning a dog has become a quiet form of resistance, much like defying the mandatory hijab, attending underground gatherings, or consuming alcohol.

 

Top News

Dog / Iran

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • People watch from a bridge as flames from an Israeli attack rise from Sharan Oil depot, following Israeli strikes on Iran, in Tehran, Iran, June 15, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
    Iran says it will stop 'self-defence response' if Israel halts attacks
  • Representational image. Photo: Mehedi Hasan/TBS
    DSE index rises, but turnover remains low
  • The moment before Abu Sayeed was shot during a clash between police and protesters in front of Begum Rokeya University in Rangpur on Tuesday, 16 July 2024. Screengrab from video
    ICT extends deadline for Abu Sayed murder probe by one month

MOST VIEWED

  • Tour operator Borsha Islam. Photo: Collected
    ‘Tour Expert’ admin Borsha Islam arrested over Bandarban tourist deaths
  • Fighter jet. Photo: AFP
    3 F-35 fighter jets downed, two Israeli pilots in custody, claims Iranian media
  • Infographic: TBS
    Chattogram Port proposes 70%-100% tariff hike
  • Vehicles were seen stuck on the Dhaka-Tangail-Jamuna Bridge highway due to a traffic jam stretching 15 kilometres on 14 June 2025. Photo: TBS
    15km traffic jam on Dhaka-Tangail-Jamuna Bridge highway as post-Eid rush continues
  • Ahsan H Mansur. TBS sketch
    BB governor meets global litigation funders to mobilise $100m for tracing stolen assets
  • Burnt out cars and damaged buildings are all that’s left of this street in Ramat Gan Credit: AP
    Iran threatens to strike US, UK, and French bases if they help defend Israel

Related News

  • Iran FM says Israel 'crossed a new red line' by attacking nuclear sites
  • Yemen's Houthis target Israel with ballistic missiles in coordination with Iran
  • US-Iran nuclear talks in Oman cancelled
  • Israel says attacks on Iran are nothing compared with what is coming
  • Who is Amir Hatami, the man to lead Iran's army after Israeli strikes kill top generals?

Features

Photos: Collected

Kurtis that make a great office wear

1d | Mode
Among pet birds in the country, lovebirds are the most common, and they are also the most numerous in the haat. Photo: Junayet Rashel

Where feathers meet fortune: How a small pigeon stall became Dhaka’s premiere bird market

3d | Panorama
Illustration: Duniya Jahan/ TBS

Forget Katy Perry, here’s Bangladesh’s Ruthba Yasmin shooting for the moon

4d | Features
File photo of Eid holidaymakers returning to the capital from their country homes/Rajib Dhar

Dhaka: The city we never want to return to, but always do

6d | Features

More Videos from TBS

Iran-Israel conflict heats up at G7 summit

Iran-Israel conflict heats up at G7 summit

1h | TBS World
Is Regime Change in Iran Israel's Goal?

Is Regime Change in Iran Israel's Goal?

1h | TBS World
Ishraque seeks chief adviser's intervention for oath as Dhaka South mayor

Ishraque seeks chief adviser's intervention for oath as Dhaka South mayor

3h | TBS Today
Israel asked US to join military campaign against Iran, but US rejects request

Israel asked US to join military campaign against Iran, but US rejects request

3h | TBS World
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net