“I can’t see all the stacks anymore!” The mayor of the French town of Béziers has declared war on dog droppings: all dogs must now undergo a DNA test so the piles left behind can be attributed.
The administration of the city of Béziers, in the south of France, is fed up with dog owners who don’t clean up their pet’s excrement and wants to use DNA analysis to track down the culprits in the future. Starting this week, a new regulation requires inner-city dog owners to have a genetic identity card created for their four-legged friends. The piles on the sidewalk can be analyzed and assigned to a specific dog.
Anyone who takes their dog without a genetic identification card has to pay a fine of 38 euros after a grace period of three months, and a fine of 122 euros for dog excrement not removed. The process will initially be tested for two years. “I can’t see all the piles anymore,” Mayor Robert Ménard told France Info.
1000 batteries per month – high cleaning costs
“We counted: in the center of the city alone we collected more than 1,000 pieces per month. We need to impose sanctions so that people behave well.” His office in Béziers says cleaning up dog waste costs the community of 75,000 around €80,000 a year.
Right-wing populist politician Ménard has been trying to introduce DNA testing on dogs since 2016. Previous efforts have been rejected by the state on legal grounds. The new rules were introduced on a trial basis for the next two years. The city administration will offer all dog owners a free saliva test for their dogs, which is required for the genetic identification card. This can also be done at the vet.
DNA tests to compare dog poop are now available in several cities around the world, including parts of London, Tel Aviv and Valencia. In Germany, the municipality of Weilerswist, west of Bonn, announced this step last summer. As a city spokeswoman said, however, an amendment to the state dog law would be needed. So far nothing has happened.