Iran Goes After Dogs And Their Owners

Thirty dogs have died of starvation and thirst in a dog jail in Kahrizak, a suburb south of Tehran. The shocking news broke just a couple of weeks ago, and was somehow overlooked amid the heat of Iran’s presidential elections.

All of these dogs had owners. Ahmad-Reza Radan, commander of Tehran's Armed Forces Corps, warned dog owners to refrain from walking them on the streets. He said, "As summer approaches, we will make an effort to stop people from bringing out their dogs in their cars or parading them on the streets to show off. We won't have any of that."

Radan stuck to his word. Dog owners were stopped while driving with their dogs, and the dogs were taken away. People walking dogs did not stand a better chance. My cousin who lives in Tehran owns a small fluffy white dog that was taken away from her as she walked it. The dogs are literally "arrested" and taken to jail. Some are freed through posting bail, others that remain unaccounted for are taken to dog prisons; one of the better known ones is in Kahrizak. Imprisoned dogs are kept in extremely poor conditions, usually among garbage, and often times without adequate food and water.

In 2007, a wave of arresting dogs and harassing their owners rose and fell. The fall may have been, at least in part, thanks to the reaction from many animal rights' organizations — including one of the strongest calls by the Humane Society International's reaction — calling upon the Iranian government to put an end to hurting these harmless animals, with the message, "[The] Humane Society demands amnesty for Iranian dogs.”