Iran is trying to make pets illegal. And it might succeed.
“No, my cat is not dangerous,” says Iranian animal lover Mostafa, outraged by a proposal from ultraconservative lawmakers to ban pets.
Iranian Members of the Parliament are making a concentrated effort to counteract the ‘menace’ of pet owners. They are drafting up a new law that would effectively make having pets – including a cat or a dog – illegal.
According to media reports, 75 MPs, or a quarter of parliament, signed to support the new pet laws in Iran.
I kid you not, the draft legislation described pet owners as a “destructive social problem.”
And if passed, it 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.”
A truly inclusive law
Not content on people with dogs and cats, the ban on pets in Iran would affect “crocodiles, turtles, snakes, lizards, mice, rabbits, and other unclean animals as well as monkeys.”
Some internet users reacted with irony and sarcasm.
“How many times have cats sought to devour you so that you consider them wild, harmful, and dangerous?” journalist Yeganeh Khodami asked on Twitter.
Another posted a photo of his kitten with the message: “I have renamed my cat ‘Criminal’ since I heard this proposed law.”
Those who are caught would be punished with a fine 10-30 times the minimum monthly wage. Plus, they’d lose the animal and the vehicle used to transport it for three months.
Yikes.
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