Walking With Pet Cat and Dog is Punishable in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia’s religious police have announced a ban on walking (and also selling) pet cat and dogs in public in the Saudi capital, because of men using them as a means of making passes at women, an official said on Wednesday.
The prohibition went into effect Wednesday in the capital, Riyadh, and authorities in the city say they will strictly enforce it.
Othman al-Othman, head of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice in Riyadh, known as the Muttawa, told the Saudi edition of al-Hayat daily that the commission has started enforcing an old religious edict.
If a man is caught with a pet, the pet will be immediately confiscated and the man will be forced to sign a document pledging not to repeat the act. If he does, he will be referred to authorities.
However the ban does not address women.
