The northern Italian province has ordered a DNA test for all dogs to discover their owners and levy a punishment if they fail to clean up their pet poop, as part of a crackdown on the plague of dog litter on the streets. Once the dog’s DNA has been taken, the test results will be entered into a database that can be used to find the culprits and their owners. The yet-to-be-created database will be accessed by street cleaners and health officials in Bolzano to determine which abandoned faeces are cluttering the streets of the Italian province after genetic testing. The owners will then be traced and fined between €50 and €500.
Dog owners will be expected to get their dogs’ blood tests done at municipal dog shelters or vet clinics
Before the plan was implemented in January, an estimated 40,000 dogs in the province had to take a DNA test at a veterinarian facility by the end of December 2023. Any owner who declines their dog’s DNA profiling, which will be mandatory by the end of March, would face a punishment ranging from 292 to 1,048 euros ($318 to $1179). According to Paolo Zambotto, director of the veterinary department, the database is being created by the provincial government, which covers Bolzano and its surroundings. Approximately 10,000 people have already registered. “Bolzano receives a few hundred complaints from citizens each year regarding poor management of public land. “Over half are for dogs,” Zambotto told Reuters.
He added, “Law enforcement could only catch three or four of them because they have to go there and set up some kind of stakeout.” Arnold Schuler, a provincial councillor told Rai News that the database made using the DNA tests will also be used to identify dogs killed in road accidents or that attacked other animals or people. “In this way, we are making it easier for everyone to have their pet registered.” Dog owners will be expected to get their dogs’ blood tests done at municipal dog shelters or vet clinics, which will cost between 60 and 100 euros ($71 and $109). The policy has also garnered some criticism, with the main concern being how this complex and costly program would be executed and handled. Many people have wondered what would happen if the perpetrators were stray animals or were owned by visitors. Others argued that it was an additional cost for the town and the police, who could have used these resources elsewhere.