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City Uses DNA To Sniff Out Dog Poop Offenders
An Israeli city is using DNA analysis of dog droppings to reward pet owners who clean up after their pets and punish those who don't. A six-month trial program launched this week, in the city of Petah Tikva, to tackle the dog mess problem in a high tech way. The program asks dog owners to take their pets to a veterinarian, who then swabs its mouth and collects DNA. The city will use the DNA database it is building to match droppings to a dog and identify its owner. Owners who scoop up their dogs' droppings and place them in specially marked bins will be eligible for rewards of pet food coupons and dog toys. Those who leave the poo on the street face fines. I wonder what sin you had to commit in a previous life to find yourself the official dog poop examiner of Petah Tikva, Israel.
When I was working on a grizzly bear census about a decade ago (it wasn't as dangerous as it sounds...), we collected tufts of hair from rub trees and scat.
I think that doing the DNA workup on a hair sample was a bit more than the scat, but that both of them were at least $5, maybe $10 each. The census didn't have enough money to do it all up front, so they were stashing samples in freezers while they tried to get more grant money.
Prices may have gone done since then, but I'd guess that doing a sample on each dog crap is going to take a lot of time and money. And besides, don't they imagine that people are going to put the dog crap from their yard into the boxes as well? I mean, if you get a toy or something each time, aren't people going to load the boxes up?
coding is life
They should do this with people who smoke and drop their cigarette butts on the ground.
Take what ye can. Give nothing back!
As I said, you've got to be kidding me. Isn't DNA analysis still kind of expensive?
It would seem to me someone who was worried about their privacy being violated by dog shit wouldn't have left said dog shit laying around in public.
No it's not. If you leave your dog's poop on a public place, it's free game for any DNA analysis or whatever.
You might argue that owning a dog is a matter of privacy and should not require a permit or anything (with which I disagree with, and will elaborate if you want). But if you come to me claiming that a pile of shit left on a public place is your private property, I'll ask if you're insane... :-)