By ABC NEWS
Added: Sun, 10 Aug 2008 23:00:00 UTC

Thanks to Elaine Ellerton for the link.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=5490035


Saudi Arabia Bans Dog Walking in Capital

Saudi Religious Police Ban Dog Walking, Sales of Dogs and Cats, Fearing Men Use Them to Flirt

Every single man knows: Walking a dog in the park is a sure babe magnet. Saudi Arabia's Islamic religious police, in their zeal to keep the sexes apart, want to make sure the technique doesn't catch on here.

The solution: Ban selling dogs and cats as pets, as well as walking them in public.

The prohibition went into effect Wednesday in the capital, Riyadh, and authorities in the city say they will strictly enforce it — unlike previous bans in the cities of Mecca and Jiddah, which have been ignored and failed to stop pet sales.

Violators found outside with their pets will have their beloved poodles and other furry companions confiscated by agents of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, the official name of the religious police, tasked with enforcing Saudi Arabia's strict Islamic code.



Saudis play by their cat outside a pet shop in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Thursday , July 31, 2008. In their zeal to keep the sexes apart, the kingdom's religious police say they have begun enforcing a ban on the sale of cats and dogs as pets and walking them in public because men use the animals to hit on women. (AP Photo)

TAGGED: -, LAW, RELIGION