Israeli City Devises Innovative way to Motivate People to Clean up After Their Dogs
As a dog lover and a frequent pedestrian, I am troubled by people who don’t clean up after their dogs. Like everyone, I don’t enjoy stepping in dog feces. And, because I love dogs, I worry that dog feces on sidewalks will give ammunition to the dog haters of the world. Picking up dog poop is no fun, but it is part of having a dog.
I was therefore interested by a blurb that appeared in the November, 2008 issue of Veterinary Economics.
Fighting smelly streets with DNA. Almost everyone knows the cringe-worthy feel of stepping on a pile of fresh dog poop. Well, residents of Petah Tikva, Israel, can walk more freely through the streets now that city officials are using science to address the issue–and potentially saving a few pairs of shoes in the process.
The city has launched a six-month trial program that asks residents to take their dogs to a veterinarian, who swabs the pooch’s mouth to collect DNA. The DNA is then used in a database aimed at matching feces to dog and identifying each dog’s owner. Owners who pick up their dog’s droppings and deposit them in specially marked bins will be eligible for rewards of pet food coupons and dog toys. Droppings left in the street could earn the dog’s owner a municipal fine. The city will consider requiring DNA samples from all dogs if the trial run is successful. So far, residents are responding positively to the program–and enjoying the clean streets.
The program sounds expensive, and I certainly don’t envy the people who have to retrieve samples from the “specially marked bins”. But this is definitely an original solution to the problem of pet droppings in the street.
You have questions. 
[...] en: Vet Blog. [...]
I think another problem, in addition to the expense, might be that those people who do not pick up after their dogs might not take them to the vet for the dna test. Maybe the dna swab should be a condition of getting a dog license. The city could require that the application be made in person and swab the dog at that time. The process of testing so much poop sounds very impractical, tho, and I doubt that very many people would get on board unless it is a HUGE problem in their city!
I think the condition for getting a dog license makes this a more interesting proposition, but what’s the point here? To get people to pick up their pet’s poop by pumping millions of dollars into the project? It’ll never fly for the masses….
Next thing you know, the techs will notice that dogs on very low-quality food have grosser poops (it’ll be noticed on an official level), so then they can send out food ads to your home!
Big Brother is watching your dog, too!
Considering that my walkway is full of dog feces that don’t belong to my dog, I’d be all for fining these people. It’s extremely gross. They are such a nuisance. I can only hope that DNA testing can become easier and cheaper as technology progresses, so this DNA testing can become more realistic.
Sounds like it would be much cheaper for the city just to hire someone to go around and pick up the poop.
In fact, instead of hiring someone (which would generate jobs) why not just get the city and county prisoners to clean it up – or those sentenced to serving community hours?
Once again the government goes the round-about, most expensive way they can to “find” a solution to a problem – instead of using common sense. And will it really be a solution?
What about those people who are dog owners and clean up after their dogs but has a younger sibling or some else walk the dog and does not clean up after the dog. Then the owner is slapped with the fine and they didn’t take the dog out.
Dixie hits the nail on the head…this just reeks of overcomplicating what should otherwise be a straightforward solution.
I get soooOOOooo cheesed off when I observed people trying to get away with not picking up their dog poop. Then when I call them on it they get all defensive.
[...] testing of dog feces isn’t just for Israel any [...]