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Iran: Dog Ownership to Be Outlawed Under Lawmakers' Plan

For much of the past decade, the Iranian government has tolerated what it considers a particularly depraved and un-Islamic vice: the keeping of pet dogs.

During periodic crackdowns, police have confiscated dogs from their owners right off the street; and state media has lectured Iranians on the diseases spread by canines. The cleric Gholamreza Hassani, from the city of Urmia, has been satirized for his sermons railing against "short-legged" and "holdable" dogs. But as with the policing of many other practices (like imbibing alcoholic drinks) that are deemed impure by the mullahs but perfectly fine to many Iranians, the state has eventually relaxed and let dog lovers be.

Those days of tacit acceptance may soon be over, however. Lawmakers in Tehran have recently proposed a bill in parliament that would criminalize dog ownership, formally enshrining its punishment within the country's Islamic penal code.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20110419/wl_time/08599206587300

It reminds me of the Xian hatred of cats, because many ancient religions worshiped cats. And they paid the price for it too, when scores of them died of the plague spread by rats which they would not have had nearly as many of if they hadn't slaughtered all the cats for being Satanic. You never know when a dog (or a cat) might come in handy.

How much do you want to bet Xians will be more up in arms about this than the mistreatment of women?

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Permalink Reply by Loren Miller on April 19, 2011 at 1:46pm

The stupid STILL burns....

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Permalink Reply by Brian Wood on April 19, 2011 at 3:06pm

Mmmm, dog, very tasty, as the Chinese and Koreans know well.

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Permalink Reply by Hugh Kramer on April 19, 2011 at 3:22pm

Perhaps the Iranians are just being catty...

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Permalink Reply by thomas smith on May 15, 2011 at 10:11pm

very good

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Permalink Reply by Prog Rock Girl on April 19, 2011 at 4:26pm

It takes some real pathology to hate an animal so much. And if they do, I hope they end up with a plague, just like those jerks in the middle ages who killed cats, especially my favorite kind of cat: black cats!

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Permalink Reply by John Absher on April 19, 2011 at 5:23pm

people shouldn't own animals anyway.

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Permalink Reply by Prog Rock Girl on April 26, 2011 at 3:56pm

Right. It is oppressive to give an animal room, board, healthcare and affection, when instead they could roam free and get parasites and fight each other for food and have litter after litter most of which dies.

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Permalink Reply by John Absher on April 26, 2011 at 4:06pm

it's not your choice to make.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Black on April 26, 2011 at 5:08pm

I guess you haven't had any pets. From experience, I would hardly call it ownership. It is more like being a steward who is responsible for the welfare of that animal. They are a great way of introducing real responsibility to children (with adult oversight). And they provide one more emotional connection to our world. Because of their short lives, they usually serve as an emotional inoculation for dealing with the loss of loved ones.

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Permalink Reply by John Absher on April 26, 2011 at 5:11pm

speciesist. not to mention most pets are mutilated

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Permalink Reply by Michael Black on April 26, 2011 at 5:37pm

I may be a little worse than just a speciesist. I know that I am free to perform ANY action that I am physically or intellectually capable of. Everything is our choice, because we have the ability to make that choice. Until one understands the very power that our mind provides us with, one can not know and assume the responsibility that comes with such power. Additionally, we are also accountable for all of our actions.