Iran’s government has been cracking down on dog owners. They can’t take their dogs for walks in many cities now. This rule started in Tehran, the capital, a few years ago. Now it’s in at least 18 cities.
The police don’t want to see dogs in public. They think it’s not safe and not healthy. But some people still take their dogs out at night or hide them in cars.
A long time ago, Iran had a big revolution. After that, the government didn’t like dogs. They thought dogs were a bad influence from Western countries.
Even so, many young people in Iran still want dogs as pets. It’s like they’re rebelling against the government’s strict rules.
Some cities, like Isfahan and Kerman, just started banning dog walks. The government says if you break this rule, you might get in trouble.
There’s no national law against owning dogs in Iran. But local authorities can still arrest you if they want to. They’ve done it before. The dogs get taken away too.
This news comes from the BBC.