Dogs, Birds and Wildlife: Grassroots Campaigns that Make a Difference in Iran

After a string of negative press reports about Iran’s stance on animal welfare, local media and Iran’s Environmental Protection Agency have made efforts to celebrate some of the country’s most successful campaigns to protect the environment, birdlife, and abandoned pets. 

On June 13, Boyer News reported that work on the refit of watchtowers for the airport in Yasuj, the capital of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province in southwestern Iran, had been temporarily stalled after a kestrel nest was discovered in the existing outposts. Quoting Ali Mohsenian, managing director of the airport, the report said that four chicks had been discovered at the top of one of the watchtowers. 

“If the renovations had continued then surely the bird would have abandoned the nest and the chicks would have died,” Mohensian said. “The decision was meant to protect a rare bird species and the environment.”

The kestrel, which belongs to the falcon family, is an endangered species in Iran. “At first we planned to just postpone the repainting work on the specific tower where the bird had built its nest,” said Mohsenian. “But since the commotion around the tower was scaring away the mother and had made it almost impossible for her to return to the nest, we decided to postpone the whole project.” Mohensian said work on the watchtower would resume when the “chicks are old enough to fly out of the nest.” 

Mohammad Darvish, the director of Education and People’s Participation at the Environmental Protection Agency, said he comes across similar acts of kindness from the general public on a regular basis. “A shopkeeper in the Western Azarbaijan city of Mashhad didn’t pull down the shutters for four weeks so that a turtle dove and its chicks, which had nested on the top of the shutters, would not be disturbed,” he said. “There are many stories like this,” he said, and also cited grassroots initiatives to protect the environment, including Mashhad’s ‘car-free Tuesdays’, spearheaded by an employer who encourages her employees to cycle to work. “They work for the environment,” said Darvish. “Many of our fellow countrymen care deeply about animals and their quality of life.”

Shahrvand website ran a story about Agha Rezaei, who set up a rest stop for birds outside his shop in Shushtar (also known as the site of the ancient city of Susa) in Khuzestan, southwestern Iran. The shopkeeper ensured the birdhouse was regularly supplied with leftover food including baked goods. 

Responding to the needs of local wildlife in Mianeh, in Eastern Azarbaijan, a construction company took a similar decision to that taken at Yasuj aiport. The company postponed a building project to protect a stork, which had laid its eggs on top of a cement-making facility. The workers waited for three months and then moved the nest to another location. Video footage of the nesting stork was posted online. 

Dogs Under Attack

News about animals — especially the country’s stray dogs — is often extremely negative in Iran, with reports of animal abuse and anti-dog campaigns dominating the media. Most recently, arsonists attacked a dog shelter in Tehran, killing and injuring dozens of dogs. 

In May 2015, IranWire reported that a policeman shot and killed a pet dog in a Tehran park. And in February 2016, animal rights campaigners protested outside the headquarters of the Environmental Protection Agency, responding to the torture of a dog that was captured on video and posted online.

Although some religious authorities regard dogs as unclean and regularly state that people should refrain from keeping them as pets, it is not an illegal activity.

This week, a senior official overseeing the city’s services announced the opening of a new shelter for stray dogs on the outskirts of the capital. Reza Ghadimi, the president of Tehran Municipality’s Industries and Jobs Supervision Company, announced on June 14 that the new sanctuary could provide accommodation and care for up to 500 dogs, and was the first of its kind in the Middle East. Not only will the facility aim to give strays a safe place to shelter, it will also provide essential veterinary care, from bathing and disinfectant services to an industrial kitchen to look after the nutritional needs of the dogs, many of which suffer from poor hygiene, dehydration, and inadequate diets. Surgery can also be performed at the center, and it boasts a sonography unit and other laboratory facilities. 

“After a dog is brought in it will be neutered and then kept at the shelter from between 15 and 45 days,” said Ghadimi. He said once the animals had been properly examined and necessary treatments and medication had been administered, the center would find them homes, suggesting that there was a thriving community of animal lovers in the capital who were willing to help facilitate this. 

Animal and nature lovers will no doubt welcome this show of respect for Iran’s birdlife, and for the humane steps the capital’s officials have taken when it comes to tackling the problem of stray dogs. But given the horrific attack on a dog shelter only two weeks ago, and previous reports of animal abuse, those fighting to protect animal rights in the country will be unlikely to be able to rest any time soon. They know all too well that attitudes toward animals, particularly dogs  — whether these attitudes come from officials, religious authorities, or members of the public — continue to be changeable and unpredictable at best.