IRANIAN DOG OWNERS are worried that the country’s government will crack down on the ownership of canines.

Time magazine reports that for the past decade Iranian lawmakers have tolerated the keeping of pet dogs, though they have confiscated some pets from their owners on occasions.

But a proposed bill would criminalise dog ownership, by saying that as well as being a public health hazard, the popularity of dog ownership shows “a blind imitation of the vulgar culture of the West”.

Under the bill, people would be forbidden to both keep and walk “impure and dangerous animals”, which seems to mainly refer to dogs, who are considered unclean under Islamic custom.

If the bill goes through, anyone found with a pet dog would have the animal confiscated and would be fined between €70 – €350.

The bill does not state what would happen to the confiscated animals, and there are potentially thousands of dogs that could be confiscated.

The last move to rid the country of pet dogs was in 2007, two years after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to power. On that occasion, not only was there a crackdown on owning dogs but there was also focus on cutting out ‘Westernised’ hairstyles.

Read the full article in Time>