Iran’s Parliament Looking to Ban House Pets, From Dogs to Crocodiles

Iran may be negotiating a nuclear agreement with the world powers while rapidly advancing toward a nuclear weapon, but its parliament is thinking about house pets. About a quarter of Iranian lawmakers have signed on to a bill that would ban house pets, calling the practice that has been gaining traction in the Islamic Republic a “destructive social problem,” the AFP news agency reported. Under Islamic law, dogs are considered unclean or impure in the same way that pigs are, and house pets, in general, are not considered conducive to the Islamic way of life. The bill says people who own pets are “replacing human and family relationships with feelings and emotional relationships towards animals.” The legislation would ban “importing, raising, assisting in the breeding of, breeding, buying or selling, transporting, driving or walking, and keeping in the home wild, exotic, harmful and dangerous animals.” The list of animals runs the gamut from dogs and cats to crocodiles and monkeys. Other animals on the list are turtles, snakes, lizards, mice, rabbits, and “other unclean animals.” Animals discovered in peoples’ homes would be confiscated and the owners fined more than three times the minimum wage. Dogs have become increasingly popular in Iran in recent years; cats are ubiquitous, both in homes and on the street.