Domestic pet dogs were banned within the city limits of Reykjavík, Iceland, for six decades (from 1924 to 1984). The controversial municipal ban was originally enacted for public health and sanitation reasons, specifically to prevent the transmission of echinococcosis (a dangerous parasitic tapeworm that can spread from dogs to humans) and to manage severe housing shortages in overcrowded urban apartment buildings. The ban was eventually lifted in 1984 under strict microchipping and vaccination laws.