Iran extends dog-walking ban to multiple cities | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Epaper
  • 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

Tuesday
June 17, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Epaper
  • 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
TUESDAY, JUNE 17, 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 leader Khamenei sees his inner circle hollowed out by Israel
  • Cyberattack hits state-owned bank in Iran: local media
  • Pakistan closes border with Iran, evacuates citizens
  • Russia is ready to mediate on Iran, and to accept Tehran's uranium, Kremlin says
  • Israel underestimated Iran’s ability: Analyst tells CNN

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

  • Acting Foreign Secretary Ruhul Alam Siddique speaks at a press conference, on the security of Bangladeshi expatriates in Iran, on Tuesday, 7 June 2025. Photo: TBS
    Around 400 Bangladeshis under serious threat in Tehran, relocation starts: MoFA
  • Iran's IRGC claims strikes at Israeli army centre, Mossad operations hub
    Iran's IRGC claims strikes at Israeli army centre, Mossad operations hub
  • Israel continued to strike Iran's capital Tehran on Sunday night. Photos: Collected
    21 Arab, Muslim nations condemn Israeli airstrikes on Iran, urge immediate de-escalation

MOST VIEWED

  • Former Bangladesh High Commissioner to the UK Saida Muna Tasneem. Photo: Collected
    ACC launches inquiry against ex-Bangladesh envoy Saida Muna, husband over laundering Tk2,000cr
  • Infograph: TBS
    Ship congestion at Ctg port lingers as berthing time rises
  • BNP leader Ishraque Hossain held a view-exchange meeting with waste management officials and Dhaka South City Corporation staff inside Nagar Bhaban on 16 June 2025. Photos: Hasan Mehedi
    Ishraque holds Nagar Bhaban meeting as 'Dhaka South mayor', says it’s people’s demand
  • Power Division wants Tk56,000cr PDB loans turned into subsidy
    Power Division wants Tk56,000cr PDB loans turned into subsidy
  • Bangladesh to open new missions in five countries to boost trade, diplomacy
    Bangladesh to open new missions in five countries to boost trade, diplomacy
  • Screengrab from the viral video showing a man claiming to be a journalist conducting a room-to-room search at a guesthouse in Chattogram
    Viral video of guesthouse raid by 'journalist' in Ctg sparks outrage, legal questions

Related News

  • Iran leader Khamenei sees his inner circle hollowed out by Israel
  • Cyberattack hits state-owned bank in Iran: local media
  • Pakistan closes border with Iran, evacuates citizens
  • Russia is ready to mediate on Iran, and to accept Tehran's uranium, Kremlin says
  • Israel underestimated Iran’s ability: Analyst tells CNN

Features

The GLS600 overall has a curvaceous nature, with seamless blends across every panel. PHOTO: Arfin Kazi

Mercedes Maybach GLS600: Definitive Luxury

1d | Wheels
Renowned authors Imdadul Haque Milon, Mohit Kamal, and poet–children’s writer Rashed Rouf seen at Current Book Centre, alongside the store's proprietor, Shahin. Photo: Collected

From ‘Screen and Culture’ to ‘Current Book House’: Chattogram’s oldest surviving bookstore

1d | Panorama
Photos: Collected

Kurtis that make a great office wear

4d | 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

5d | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

Trump signs order confirming parts of UK-US tariff deal

Trump signs order confirming parts of UK-US tariff deal

6m | TBS World
What’s the position of the superpowers in Iran-Israel war?

What’s the position of the superpowers in Iran-Israel war?

31m | Podcast
G7 Backs Israel, Labels Iran a Source of Terrorism

G7 Backs Israel, Labels Iran a Source of Terrorism

1h | TBS Stories
The worries of Iranians regarding security and survival

The worries of Iranians regarding security and survival

2h | 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