WORLD> Europe
Collect your dog's waste, we got its DNA
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-09-25 15:16

Dog excrement no longer merely a nuisance as it now becomes evidence against those dog owners who care little about hygiene and environment.

File photo. Dog excrement no longer merely a nuisance as it now becomes evidence against those dog owners who care little about hygiene and environment. [Xinhua]

A DNA database will be created in Vercelli, a small town in northern Italy, according to media reports Wednesday.

All registered dogs will have their DNA collected and their excrement left on pavements and in parks could then be tested.

"Any dog owner who fails to collect after their pets could be prosucuted and fined," according to La Stampa daily Tuesday.

"If signs and invitations aren't enough, we'll try genetics. I want a clean city," Antonio Prencipe, councillor in charge of the environment in Vercelli, a town of some 45,000 inhabitants near Turin, told the paper.

Earlier this month, Petah Tikva, an Israeli town, adopted a similar six-month trial program. There, dog owners are asked to take their animals to a municipal veterinarian, who then swabs their mouths and collects DNA.