France
City drowned in dog poo – and wants to identify culprits with mandatory DNA tests
Béziers has introduced a new ordinance to deal with the dog poo littering the city’s sidewalks (icon image)
© Christian Ohde/ / Picture Alliance
Every month over a thousand dog poo are left in the center of the French city of Béziers. The mayor has had enough. He wants to take action against this with the help of DNA tests and fines.
The southern French city of Béziers has a problem: the 75,000-inhabitant community spends around 80,000 euros a year alone on removing dog poo from the streets. The city is therefore declaring war on dog owners who do not clean up their animals’ droppings – with an unusual method: the owners in the city center have to have a genetic ID card created for their four-legged friends. This emerges from a regulation that has been in effect since this week. With the help of the genetic card, dog poop left on the sidewalk should be analyzed and assigned to a specific dog.
“You have to impose sanctions so that people behave properly”
There is a grace period for the next three months. Anyone who then travels without such a genetic ID card has to pay 38 euros. Dog poop that is not removed costs a fine of 122 euros. The procedure is to be tested over the next two years.
The city’s mayor, Robert Ménard, told the radio station “France Info”: “I can’t see all the piles anymore.” According to him, a census would have shown that in the city center alone over a thousand dog poo are collected every month. “You have to impose sanctions so that people behave properly,” said Ménard.
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German municipality also wants to introduce DNA tests for dog poo
For the dogs’ genetic identification, saliva tests will be necessary, which the city administration would like to make available free of charge. DNA tests are already being carried out in parts of London, Tel Aviv and Valencia to match dog poop. The German municipality of Weilerswist west of Bonn also planned to introduce such a measure last year. However, a change in the state dog law is necessary for this, which has not been made to date, says a spokeswoman for the city.
Sources: daily NewsDPA
See in the video: Dog Kenzo is a true XXL four-legged friend. The Central Asian Ovcharka from London weighs a full 85 kilos. Owner Jamal Miah reports that passers-by often mistake Kenzo for a lion or a pony.