Iran pet lovers slam ban on dogs in public
TEHRAN, May 2 (Reuters) - An Iranian animal rights group has protested
at an order by the country's chief justice barring dogs from public places
as ``un-Islamic,'' arguing that the ban is illegal, a newspaper reported
on Sunday.
``Condemning animals to house arrest and taking away their God-given
freedom without a trial is not in the power of any authority,'' said the
Association of the Friends of Animals, a previously unknown group, in a
letter to conservative judiciary chief Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi.
The letter, quoted by the daily Jomhuri-ye Eslami, said the order was
unconstitutional and an interference in parliament's authority.
Yazdi ordered police last month to clamp down on dog walkers, saying
the practice insulted Islamic sentiment. ``This is an Islamic country.
This is an Islamic city. It is okay for people to keep animals at their
home, but bringing them into streets and alleys is a public insult,'' he
said.
``The police can take action in this regard.'' Despite Islamic beliefs,
many affluent city dwellers own dogs and take them out for walks.
A number of rights groups have emerged in Iran in the past years, notably
under moderate President Mohammad Khatami, who is pushing for greater freedom
and the rule of law.
Jomhuri-ye Eslami, a hardline daily, criticised the trend. ``These days,
there is so much abuse of the word 'freedom' that it is even used to defend
dog lovers,'' it said.
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