Iranian authorities have expanded a ban on walking dogs in public to many cities nationwide, citing public health, social order and safety concerns, domestic media have reported.

The ban, which echoes a 2019 police directive that barred walking dogs in Tehran, was expanded to Ilam city in the west on Sunday, according to reports.

At least 17 other cities have introduced similar bans in recent days, including Isfahan in the centre and Kerman in the south.

Owning and walking dogs has been a contentious subject since the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, though there is no law banning dog ownership outright.

Many religious scholars, however, consider petting dogs or coming into contact with their saliva as najis, or ritually impure, while some officials view pet dogs as a symbol of western cultural influence.

Local authorities have periodically introduced bans on walking dogs in public spaces or carrying them in vehicles as part of a wider campaign to discourage their ownership.

Enforcing the restrictions has been inconsistent, as many owners continue to walk their dogs in Tehran and elsewhere across Iran.

On Sunday, the reformist Etemad newspaper quoted an official from Ilam city as saying “legal action will be taken against violators”, without elaborating.

On Saturday, the state newspaper Iran said the latest measures were aimed at “maintaining public order, ensuring safety and protecting public health”.

Abbas Najafi, the prosecutor of the western city of Hamedan, was quoted by the Iran newspaper, as saying: “Dog walking is a threat to public health, peace and comfort.”

In 2021, 75 lawmakers condemned pet ownership as a “destructive social problem”, saying it could “gradually change the Iranian and Islamic way of life”.

In 2017, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said: “Keeping dogs for reasons other than herding, hunting and guard dogs is considered reprehensible.”

According to Tasnim news agency, Khamenei added: “If this practice resembles that of non-Muslims, promotes their culture or causes harm and disturbance to neighbours, it is deemed forbidden.” (The Guardian)