We have previously discussed violence and legal measures targeting dogs by some Muslims who view canines as “unclean.” Even postcards with dogs and service dogs (and here) have raised the ire of some Muslim groups. Now this issue is getting some long-needed attention in Iran after a short film that showed stray dogs being tortured and killed by having acid injected into them.
The video was taken an industrial area of Shiraz, 900 kilometres south of Tehran. The animal activists claimed that those responsible paid $4 for each dog. As with environmentalists in China, I have always had overwhelming respect and admiration for secularists and animal (particularly dog) advocates in Muslim countries. This is more than an impressive commitment to principle but putting your actual life on the line for those principles.
The good news is that the Iranian government is acting on the video. While there was an effort to criminalize the ownership of dogs under Sharia law (and subject dog owners to up to 74 lashed last year), Vice President Masoumeh Ebtekar has called for an investigation into the video. While she referred rather mildly to the practice as “an immediate end to unconventional population control method[] for stray dogs,” she did call upon the interior ministry to “deal with the criminals responsible”.
Some Iranian celebrities like Ali Karimi, once a star on Iran’s national football team, posted a picture with his two dogs on Instagram and the message “Dogs are the kindest domestic animals. I hope those who, under any excuse, did this to these animals get what they deserve.”
Karen
Somehow your statistics defy all the rest, ‘far more likely’? More people have been killed in the past year with guns/violence than in the entire 20th Century in GB. You must tap the same statistics that Rubio, Koch bros, and Carl Rove taps.
During WW2 the russians deported all their Koreans to Kazhakastan. Fights ensued when Kazakh dogs started going missing. The Koreans were EATING them. Relations otherwise were good with the Kazakhs, who saved many Korean people from starvation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deportation_of_Koreans_in_the_Soviet_Union
Try separating laws from ethics; they are inextricably linked. Guess that is a news flash for some on here. There is no attempt by JT to mix law and ethics. They are already combined. Societies criminalize various actions based upon their respective values and beliefs. Not rocket science here. A society, which bases its laws upon a religion which preaches death to anyone following a different faith–even offering up a reward of a blissful afterlife for those who murder those outsiders–can’t be expected to respect the safety of dogs.
Celebrate diversity.
And lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that in our home country, dogs are put too sleep every day.
Isaac – what are you talking about? Are you unaware that you have a far higher chance of being the victim of a violent crime in the UK than you do here? That thieves target families when they are home because they have the best chance that the house alarm has been turned off?
It is not the weapon that makes the crime; it is the criminal. They do not outlaw cars when someone runs someone over on purpose. They do not outlaw duct tape event though it must be used in every single kidnapping.
A cop ex-boyfriend bought me my first gun because he said he had never arrived in time to stop a violent crime from occurring. Plus he knew I’d had a really frightening stalker. My father prevented a break in at night simply by chambering a round on the other side of our door. He got a really sincere apology, too. We shoot rattlers on our property every year. If you live or backpack in bear country it’s irresponsible to travel without one. I’ve had a run in with a mountain lion that kept hanging around the ranch I was house sitting. The rangers recommended I keep my rifle with me while feeding the horses, who by the way had been attacked only a few months before. A horse weighs 9 times what I do, and the claw marks were horrid. I could go on, but I have had many personal times when having a firearm made a difference. And, amazingly, gun ownership did not turn me into a homicidal criminal. I live in a rural area where just about everyone owns firearms. It’s common to see riders on the trail with a sidearm. And yet, we don’t have Wild West shootouts. There are homeowners along our own border who cannot leave the house without a weapon, and keep a gun by their bed, because of the drug cartel violence.
Statistically, the overwhelming majority of gun crimes are committed by gang members. How about instead of disarming everyone, we break the gangs and make the neighborhoods safer?
What do the anti-2nd Amendment crowd expect women with stalkers to do, just die? File a restraining order? How many murder suicides are in the news, or murderers in jail because to them it was worth it to kill their ex rather than let her be happy without them? Are these women supposed to suddenly be able to fight off men twice their size? My cop ex explained to me that while someone’s breaking into your house, you have to find the phone, explain the situation to the 911 operator, they have to send the call, and then you have to wait for the police to drive to your house, assess the situation, and gain entry. That is a looooooooong time when someone who wants you dead at all cost is breaking in.
What is unfortunate is that there is no consistency in tracking the number of times that guns were used to save a life or prevent violence. There have been a great many, far more than gun murders, but the data is collected inconsistently, and many police departments don’t report such occurrences at all.
What is the common thread in just about every single mass shooting? They choose “soft targets” which means their victims will be unarmed. As soon as they are faced with someone armed, such as the police or a CC, they either give up or shoot themselves. Recall the Texas Clock Tower, where armed citizens pinned the shooter down and prevented mass casualties?
Paul
Criminals, risk takers, captives of war, Swiss, etc. Thanks, I never even thought to look at it that way. That explains a lot.
Steve
Not afraid, just embarrassed.
It is literally impossible for every single member of a nation to have good morals and ethics and follow the law. Hence the persistence of dog and cock fighting rings. The difference is that such animal cruelty is prosecuted here and roundly condemned. It is not part of our national culture to loathe dogs.
One of the nations with the highest dog ownership is the UK. On the other hand, China regards the dog as a food item and pest, and its ownership as a pet is frowned upon. Dolphins are for the most part beloved marine mammals in the US, but in Japan, they have routine dolphin slaughters because they are viewed as a “fish”. I’ve always hoped that Flipper reruns would catch on in Japan.
I think I need to go hug my Cattle Dog now. Those poor dogs.
Torturing and killing animals for pleasure is the hallmark of a psychopath.
Mistreatment of dogs is rampant in the Middle East and China. So sad. I hope they reform from within. From the “mild” comments by the Persian VP, I doubt they will address this. It’s entrenched in the culture. They need to have a marathon of Benji, Lassie, and Rin Tin Tin movies to try to change hearts and minds.
Worse than being not valued, dogs are targets for abuse in these areas.
I love dogs. Heartbreaking.
Ed …what you said vis a vis the blog content submitted by the owner/operator. Amen.
Nick … you do not want me to comment on this thread. I’ve faced those who’d harm my dogs, and my horses, and I have made it clear it would be their end of time on earth. I am not politically correctly rational on the subject.
It must suck to write a blog, offer it’s content for free, and then have know-it-alls tell you what content is and is not worthy of posting.
Always interesting when a law professor attempts to mix the law with ethics.
Don’t think it’s convincing…
Poisoning stray animals happens in the US too.
http://www.kspr.com/news/local/stray-cats-to-be-poisoned-with-antifreeze/21051620_28145274
Old nurse needs to go spend some quality time in an Arab country. Only then can she lecture us about America’s lack of moral superiority and exceptionalism. And, by the way, if old nurse is an old FEMALE nurse, even better. An old female is even more reviled and viewed as useless in those locales. Bon voyage!
Mike
You are correct. There are dog fighting rings. When those fights are revealed, and the authorities catch those responsible, there are prosecutions. Nobody is surprised. In the West, we expect this. I don’t know about these fights being routine, as you describe. I believe that they are more of a rarity, which excludes them from being routine. In any case, civilized human beings do not get surprised by the subsequent arrests or prosecutions of the responsible parties. We have come to anticipate that. The same is not true for Iran, where those who publicly speak out about the poisoning of animals need to be hailed as heroes, since they risk losing their careers, if not their lives, for doing so. The lone politician, who dares to say that Iran will investigate, is deemed to be some type of champion. That alone speaks volumes.
Mike Appleton:
Not a difficult concept to link the Iranian barbarism to their trustworthiness as a treaty partner (especially one covering nuclear weapons).
One of the requirements for being a good citizen is to evaluate our government objectively – regardless of the party in power.
I was (still am) a harsh critic of the Bush 2 regime; though I doubt if you would find fault with those complaints.
which is, not with is
Paul C
You are usually too bright to fall for this deflection. You must be having an off day. Plenty of opportunities to deal with guns or gun violence. This article has a topic with is completely unrelated, but you’ve taken the bait to ignore the atrocities occurring to helpless animals. Not like you.
Gosh. I wish Americans would be as outraged over the harm done to Arabs/Muslims and their countries by the USA over the last 25 years as they are about the torture of dogs. We are oblivious about the consequences of our actions, convinced as we are by our moral superiority and exceptionalism, both of which are total BS.
I find it interesting that Steve Fleischer was able to link this story to the Obama administration. I assume he realizes that his comment was a non sequitur. Or maybe not. Unless of course, he would also argue that the routine busts of dog fighting rings in the United States means that we cannot be trusted to comply with our treaty obligations.
The topic of the story is not unworthy, but some of the responses certainly are.
Paul C
Of course a discussion moves in various directions, but to never, NEVER, touch on the topic of the article because it reflects poorly of Muslims or Iran, is strange in its regularity. The same responses, from the same people, always deflecting and trying to change the topic at hand. This article is not even remotely connected, in any way, shape or form, to guns. Of course there’s a problem with gun violence. And? There’s also a problem with the ozone. World hunger still needs some attention. Bees are also disappearing. The price of gas has gone up lately. So what? Posing a question to JT, asking what is his point with this article, is rude. This is his blog. If you don’t like the topics, start your own.
You are right to call BS. Speaking about man’s brutality with regard to innocent animals is completely unrelated to guns and is BS as a response to animal cruelty.