Vet who fled Saddam Hussein draws up groundbreaking Kurdistan animals rights bill

Kurdish vet is behind groundbreaking welfare legislation to be debated by parliament in Iraq's autonomous region

The animals are my life," says Sulaiman Tameer. In one corner of his desk is a statuette of a rearing horse. A watercolour of a donkey hangs behind it. That one lives with a government minister," he nods at a photo of a rescued kitten. But I won't tell you which one."

The veterinarian's office, which shares space with his clinic on a sidestreet in Duhok in the Kurdistan region, in northern Iraq, is where Tameer divides his time between treating animals and campaigning for government action on their rights.