Italian state orders DNA testing of all dogs in crackdown on poop picking

pet

by alex mitchell

It’s a dog whodunnit.

A northern Italian province has turned to diligent DNA testing to catch four-legged criminals whose furry friends defecate all over beautiful Bolzano and whose owners don’t clean up.

Dog parents are now required to submit their puppies for DNA swab testing as a tracking mechanism to easily identify the culprit behind the poop.

“Bolzano receives hundreds of complaints a year from citizens about the mismanagement of public lands. More than half are for dogs,” Paolo Zambotto, head of the veterinary department, told Reuters.

“Law enforcement was only able to catch three or four people because they have to go out there and do some kind of stakeout.”

Fines are exempt for non-tourists and locals and range from 292 to 1,048 euros ($318 to $1,143).

But Bolzano authorities are keeping their tails between their legs because so far only a fraction of the 45,000 local dogs – around 5,000, or just 11% – have complied, reports the Guardian. reported.

“Easier said than done,” Madeleine Laurere, a local Green Party official, told Italian newspaper Il Giornale.

“It would just be an additional expense for municipalities and police departments who have a lot of other things to do.”

But Pot near Austria isn’t the only place with bones to pick up dog poop.

In the United States, an apartment building in Denver, as well as a town in France, introduced dog DNA testing for the same reason.

One complex in Washington also required testing of all residents’ pets, as did another in Maryland.