Here’s what Marie-Antoinette Novy found on the Web
and share with us about Germany and Austria

DNA against dog poop

In Dresde, Germany, the problem of dog poop is taken very seriously. Since 2005, the City registers all dogs. Dog owners must give the City a sample of their dog’s saliva which is kept on file. All dogs being registered, it is then up to the scientific brigade established by the City to pick up the poop and analyze it. When traces of DNA found in the excrement correspond to a registered dog, the dog owner will be fined between 200€ and 600€, including the cost of DNA testing. The fee could be higher in case of relapse.

In Austria, a City Councillor in Vienna has also suggested DNA testing in order to identify and punish dog owners who don’t pick up their dog’s poop. There are

50 000 registered dogs in Vienna, but the City suspects that there are many more. Dog owners pay a small fee (0,12€) per day but, according to the City Councillor each poop picked up by the City costs between 3 and 5 Euros. So far it seems that publicity campaigns had not effects on dog owners, leaving the capital sidewalks with scattered dog poop. Unfortunately, even if one can be fined by the law, offenders can rarely be caught in the act.

Because of this lack of respect from irresponsible dog owners, could it be possible that one day, we also have to use DNA testing to clean up our streets?