Iran tries to make it illegal to own a dog -
If you’re a poodle, get out of Iran.
Actually, if you fit the description of any four-legged tail wagger with a propensity for chasing Peugeots, you are not welcome in that country.
Lawmakers in the nation’s capital have proposed a bill that would make owning a dog illegal.
What do Iranian politicians have against pet pooches?
They’re un-Islamic, disease-ridden and short-legged.
“I would like to thank the honourable police and judges and all those who worked to arrest dog lovers and to confiscate short-legged dogs in this city,” cleric Gholamreza Hassani declared in the city of Urumiyeh.
“Happy are those who became martyrs and did not witness the playing with dogs! Now in our society, women wear hats and men hold dogs!” he added.
Following the advice of the clergy, who consider pet dogs best avoided, few Iranians traditionally kept the animals in their homes, but over the last 15 years there has been an influx of small-dog clutchers and puppy walkers in the country’s cities as the middle class mimics the Western culture seen in movies and on satellite TV.
“Global norms and values capture the heart of people all around the world, and Iran is no exception,” Omid Memarian, a prominent Iranian journalist told Time magazine. “This is very frightening for Iranian officials, who find themselves in a cultural war with the West and see what they’re offering as an ‘Islamic lifestyle’ failing measurably.”
And while lawmakers have largely held off punishing dog lovers for the last decade, the rising number of toy Russian terriers and well-fed dachshunds finally got to be too much.
The bill states dog ownership “poses a cultural problem, a blind imitation of the vulgar culture of the West.”
The proposed legislation outlines specific punishments for “the walking and keeping” of “impure and dangerous animals” for the first time, including confiscation of offending animal and fines of $100 to $500.
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