More Cities Use DNA To Catch Dog Owners Who Don't Pick Up Waste

dkatana writes: For many cities one of the biggest cleaning expenses is dealing with dog poop. While it is impossible to ask the birds to refrain from splattering the city, dogs have owners and those owners are responsible for disposing of their companion's waste. The few who shirk their duty create serious problems for the rest. Poop is not just a smelly inconvenience. It's unsanitary, extra work for cleaning crews, and in the words of one Spanish mayor, on a par with vandalism. Cities have tried everything from awareness campaigns with motorized poo videos, to publishing offenders names to mailing the waste back to the dog owner. In one case, after a 147 deliveries, dog waste incidents in the town dropped 70 percent. Those campaigns have had limited effect and after an initial decline in incidents, people go back to their old ways. Which has left many cities resorting to science and DNA identification of waste. Several European cities, including Naples and one borough in London, are building DNA registries of pets. Offending waste will then be tested and the cost of the analysis charged to the dog owner, along with a fine.

Comments

Re:DNA testing of waste?

[phayes]

Sure they do, like in playground sandboxes where small children can be infected by toxoplasmosis. People in big cities who let their cats outside deserve to be taxed too.

Re: DNA testing of waste?

[dwywit]

Foreign animal in your yard? Don't you have the right to "restrain" said animal, and call the local authority to retrieve it?

When your neighbours have to start paying $X every time they let their animals stray, they'll soon do something about it.

I had to restrain a neighbour's dog once for hassling my free-range hens. I didn't mistreat it, merely grabbed it by the collar, walked it to the neighbour's place, and advised the neighbour of my rights regarding animals on my property - said rights including shooting her dog if it was hassling, attacking, or even playfully chasing my chickens. She wasn't aware of the rules concerning domestic and farm animals in rural areas, and, to her credit, apologised and promised to never let it happen again. And it didn't.