Since the API was first published in 2014, there has been progress on animal welfare in Iran. For instance, in March 2016, the Department of Environment announced it would no longer issue permits allowing the use of wild animals in circuses, thus effectively banning the use of wild animals in circuses across the whole country. In March 2019, Iran also banned the construction of dolphinaria. Furthermore, in November 2017, the Department of Environment proposed the first Bill on the protection of animals. This Bill was tabled in the Iranian Parliament in September 2019; however, at the time of writing, this Bill had yet to be enacted. If passed, this Bill would become the first animal protection law in the country and would ban acts of physical violence to animals, such as beating, torture, deliberate injuries, as well as acts causing distress to animals, such as abandonment. Various uses of animals considered ‘not compatible with their nature’ would also be forbidden, which would include bestiality and the training of animals for circuses. Moreover, animal experiments have been banned in all primary and secondary schools since July 2019.

However, since the Bill on the protection of animals has not yet been passed by Parliament, there remain, at present, numerous legislative omissions in animal welfare law in Iran. Currently the country’s legislation does not recognise animal sentience, and there is a lack of basic animal protection. For instance, animal cruelty is not prohibited, and there is no duty of care onto animal owners. There is a clear lack of specific welfare provisions for the rearing, transport and slaughter of farm animals. There is a lack of legal protection for draught animals. Moreover, fur farming is not banned in the country. In 2014, the killing of stray dogs and cats was banned in the city of Tabriz but is still allowed in other parts of the country.

The Ministry of Agriculture is responsible for activities related to farm animals. The Department of the Environment has replaced the former Fishing and Hunting Organisation, hence having responsibility for wild animals. However, there is no Ministry responsible for animal welfare in Iran. There is a lack of government bodies dedicated to animal welfare in general, as well as for specific animal welfare issues, such as the use of animals in scientific research. 

The Government of Iran is urged to adopt the draft Bill on the protection of animals, presented to Parliament in September 2019, which would ban animal cruelty acts and the abandonment of animals. The Government of Iran is strongly encouraged to include in this Bill a definition of animal welfare which would align with OIE standards, a duty of care onto animal owners, as well as a recognition of sentience for all vertebrates, cephalopods and decapod crustaceans. Further animal welfare provisions will stem from this recognition of sentience.

Moreover, the Government of Iran is urged to ban the worst forms of confinement for animals reared in farming, and to mandate humane slaughter for all livestock animal species. In addition, the Government of Iran is strongly encouraged to fully ban fur farming, which is inherently cruel and causes pain, distress and suffering to animals. The Government of Iran is urged to outlaw the culling of stray animal populations throughout the whole country, and to implement spay-and-neuter campaigns as a tool to control stray animal populations. The Government of Iran is also strongly encouraged to ban the use of all animals for entertainment, in circuses for instance – whereas the current ban only applies to wild animals. Overall, the Government of Iran is strongly encouraged to align its current legislation with OIE standards. Responsibility for animal welfare should be allocated to a Ministry, and a specific government body should enact and assess the implementation of animal protection legislation. Such a government body should include representatives from animal welfare organisations. Further legal and policy recommendations are associated with each indicator and contained in the relevant sections of this report. Further legal and policy recommendations are associated with each Animal Protection Index (API) indicator and contained in the relevant sections of this report.