Iranian MPs Want to Ban Pets to Protect "Islamic Way of Life"

In Iran, 75 deputies - a quarter of parliamentarians - recently signed a text entitled "

" in which they argue that living with domestic animals represents a "

".

This phenomenon, they warn, could "

" by "

."

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The bill intends to prohibit in particular "the

".

Appear on the list "

".

In Muslim law, both the dog and the pig are considered unclean.

Any offender would risk a fine equivalent to 10 to 30 times the "

" (87 euros), in addition to the "

" of the animal.

Anger and mockery

But the proposed law sparked criticism in the press, mockery on social networks and anger among residents of Tehran.

"

", warns the reformist daily Shargh.

More and more Iranians from the middle and upper classes own pets, and many of them walk their dogs at night in the parks and streets of the upscale neighborhoods of the capital.

Beyond anger, some Internet users have recourse to humor.

"

", Ironically on Twitter a journalist, Yeganeh Khodami.

"

" wrote another, posting the photo of his kitten.

An actress, involved in the animal cause but who asks to remain anonymous, confides to have given up, because of the pressures, to organize a demonstration in front of the Parliament.

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Faced with this outcry, few parliamentarians openly defend the text. "

" explains the head of the judicial commission in Parliament Moussa Ghazanfarabadi, who signed the text. “

”he said.

An ecologist deputy from Tehran, Somayeh Rifieï, thinks that a law is needed.

"

" she said.

She nevertheless considers that she prefers to put on the agenda a government bill which, for its part, "

" and "

" .

And to deplore the fact that the bill “

”.