Prague 7 authorities turn to DNA in battle over dog poop

Municipal authorities in the Prague 7 district are considering taking DNA samples of dog poop not cleared up by irresponsible owners in an effort to identify offenders. Though the district is collecting 1.7 million crowns annually in fines from dog owners, it is spending 8 million crowns on cleaning up the mess. Frustrated officials have had enough and say that since all efforts have failed to engender a sense of public responsibility in dog owners, they are seriously considering resorting to the extraordinary measure of asking them to voluntarily submit samples at a cost of 600 crowns, which would then create a central database against which offending samples could be checked. Last year, Prague 7 authorities undertook a high publicity advertising campaign targeted at dog owners. Feedback is currently being solicited from locals on the DNA plan via a newly launched website.

Author: Dominik Jůn