Using Dna To Catch People Who Don't Clean Up After Their Dogs

[sandgrubber]

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKLG3794252008091

(Reuters) - An Israeli city is using DNA analysis of dog droppings to reward and punish pet owners.

Under a six-month trial programme launched this week, the city of Petah Tikva, a suburb of Tel Aviv, is asking dog owners to take their animal to a municipal veterinarian, who then swabs its mouth and collects DNA.

The city will use the DNA database it is building to match faeces to a registered dog and identify its owner.

Owners who scoop up their dogs' droppings and place them in specially marked bins on Petah Tikva's streets will be eligible for rewards of pet food coupons and dog toys.

But droppings found underfoot in the street and matched through the DNA database to a registered pet could earn its owner a municipal fine.

"My goal is to get the residents involved, and tell them that together, we can make our environment clean," said Tika Bar-On, the city's chief veterinarian who came up with the idea for the DNA experiment.

Bar-On said the DNA database could also help veterinarians research genetic diseases in dogs, investigate canine pedigree and identify stray animals, replacing the need for electronic chip identification.

"The sky is the limit on how far we can take this," she said.

So far, Bar-On said, residents have "reacted positively to the programme and are cooperating because they want their neighbourhood to be clean".

She said Petah Tikva would consider making it mandatory for pet owners to provide DNA samples from their dogs if the trial programme is successful.

(Editing by Robert Hart) .

[shortstep]

They have been doing this in certain places in europe for some time.

Nanny state taken to the extreme. When you think that many of these countries in Europe are about ready to go bankrupt over the costs of socialized everything, this shows just why that is happening!

[poodlefan]

Nanny state?

I don't think so. If people don't pick up after their dogs then they deserve to be fined. Dog poo issues have seen a heap of places closed off to responsible dog owners

[shortstep]

Nanny state?

I don't think so. If people don't pick up after their dogs then they deserve to be fined. Dog poo issues have seen a heap of places closed off to responsible dog owners

Did I say people should not be picking up their poo. It is however a total waist of money to be running DNA tests on every pile of poo they can find and require every owner in the town city or state or country to do a DNA test on their dog. All in hopes of prosocuting someone for dog poo. Cleanest dog places I have been to are made that way by peer pressure not by DNA testing poo.

All I can say is what a load of sh*t LOL

If they want to spend money on DNA tests why not donate that money to some DNA health testing.

Edited November 22, 2010 by shortstep

[Odin-Genie]

Nanny state?

I don't think so. If people don't pick up after their dogs then they deserve to be fined. Dog poo issues have seen a heap of places closed off to responsible dog owners

Totally agree. There should be some way to fine people who don't pick up after their dogs. Next to barking, dog poo is probably the reason most non-dog owners dislike dogs. I don't want to watch what I'm stepping on every time I go for a walk.

[raz]

I think it's overkill. Why cant people learn to just pick up after their bloody dogs!

[poodlefan]

I think it's overkill. Why cant people learn to just pick up after their bloody dogs!

Because they don't care. I'm happy for them to be scared into it.

[raz]

I think you're right, but they wouldnt care about having their dogs DNA being registered either. Same old story - it's the people who do the right thing who'd be interested, not the lazy selfish pricks who wont pick up after their dogs

[sandgrubber]

I heard a lovely interview with the manager of a large (300 unit) dog-friendly apartment complex. They had no end to problems with people who didn't pick up after their dogs. Then the went the DNA testing route. In the last three months they have only found six poohs on the premises, and all the owners got fined. (US National Public Radio . .. I can't find a transcript).

I don't think it's practical at the shire level....but perhaps someday they'll change from microchips to DNA profiles for council registration. When that happens, it could be a greats system.

There are two reasons people don't pick up after their dogs: (1) they are lazy and/or irresponsible; and (2) they don't get caught. If there was a good chance of getting a nasty fine for not cleaning up, I think a lot more people would carry and use pooh bags.

[Tapferhund]

Nanny state?

I don't think so. If people don't pick up after their dogs then they deserve to be fined. Dog poo issues have seen a heap of places closed off to responsible dog owners

I don't think that's because of the poop but more like an excuse used by those who don't like dogs in general to have dogs OUT of public parks and beaches.

I am in full agreement that people should pick up after their dogs but it annoys when I see dog people being so petty in turning on their own in wanting people fined for not doing as they should ........especially when they themselves add to the thousands of tons of human effluent that is pumped out into the oceans each week.

In regard to the DNA testing for offending pooping dogs.......amazing isn't it :p when a suspected rapist or murderer has rights that says he is allowed to refuse being DNA tested ...but an owner of an offending pooping dog has no such rights.

Crazy world we live in hey !

Edited November 23, 2010 by Tapferhund

[poodlefan]

I am in full agreement that people should pick up after their dogs but it annoys when I see dog people being so petty in turning on their own in wanting people fined for not doing as they should ........

I don't regard dog owners who don't obey the law as "my own".

People who don't do the right thing as dog owners cost the rest of us dearly. If you think wanting to see them being held responsible for breaking the laws that the rest of us obey is "petty" then colour me petty with sparkles.

I'm petty enough to get the complete shits with people who think that laws don't apply to them and their dogs and who don't give a rats arse who they inconvenience when they breach them. Talk to a person in a wheel chair about what its like to end up with dog shit all over their hands from the wheels and then come tell me that folk not doing as they should is no big deal.

What's so petty about wanting to see people penalised for failing to obey the law? Leash laws and no dog parks are the direct result of irresponsible dog owners. So is BSL.

when a suspected rapist or murderer has rights that says he is allowed to refuse being DNA tested

Rubbish. If consent is required and they don't comply you go get yourself a warrant and compel the test. If he takes a dump in a public park then you sure don't need a warrant to collect a sample.

You have no idea what you're talking about.

Edited November 23, 2010 by poodlefan

[twodoggies2001]

Nanny state?

I don't think so. If people don't pick up after their dogs then they deserve to be fined. Dog poo issues have seen a heap of places closed off to responsible dog owners

I don't think that's because of the poop but more like an excuse used by those who don't like dogs in general to have dogs OUT of public parks and beaches.

I am in full agreement that people should pick up after their dogs but it annoys when I see dog people being so petty in turning on their own in wanting people fined for not doing as they should ........especially when they themselves add to the thousands of tons of human effluent that is pumped out into the oceans each week. :p

In regard to the DNA testing for offending pooping dogs.......amazing isn't it when a suspected rapist or murderer has rights that says he is allowed to refuse being DNA tested ...but an owner of an offending pooping dog has no such rights.

Crazy world we live in hey !

I don't think it's a matter of turning on their own. These lazy irresponsible dog owners give responsible dog owners a bad name, and as usual, all of us, responsible or not are lumped into the same pool. Frankly, if you own a dog, you need to clean up after it in public. Surely the back yard is cleaned, but then again, these 'responsible' owners probably take their dogs to the street to poop on other people's gardens or nature strips. We used to have a neighbour who walked his dog every morning, reading the newspaper, so he thought he no one would notice if his dog voided in the public area or private gardens. Neighbours would pick up after the dog and present it at his front door. Stopped him continuing the practice fairly quickly. I do recall a while ago, when a woman was accused of not cleaning up after her dog in St.Kilda, Victoria and the council did DNA testing. Can't remember the outcome.

[sandgrubber]

If there were as many suspected murderers as there are people who don't pick up the pooh, I doubt civil rights concerning DNA testing would be respected.

In some places dog pooh is more than an excuse ... it's everywhere. Most of our human excrement is treated and disposed of in ways that don't create public nuisance. There are people who systematically take their dog or dogs down to the local park every day and let them relieve themselves. No picking up. Some wait until dark so they don't get caught. If they took their kids to the park for the same reason, you can bet there'd be an uproar.

Nanny state?

I don't think so. If people don't pick up after their dogs then they deserve to be fined. Dog poo issues have seen a heap of places closed off to responsible dog owners

I don't think that's because of the poop but more like an excuse used by those who don't like dogs in general to have dogs OUT of public parks and beaches.

I am in full agreement that people should pick up after their dogs but it annoys when I see dog people being so petty in turning on their own in wanting people fined for not doing as they should ........especially when they themselves add to the thousands of tons of human effluent that is pumped out into the oceans each week.

In regard to the DNA testing for offending pooping dogs.......amazing isn't it when a suspected rapist or murderer has rights that says he is allowed to refuse being DNA tested ...but an owner of an offending pooping dog has no such rights.

Crazy world we live in hey ! :D

Edited November 23, 2010 by sandgrubber

[Are You Serious Jo]

My partner commented on this very issue yesterday, after seeing an inconsiderate Ahole dog owner walk away from the poop. I told him what I'd like to do, if in a bad enough mood. I'd grab that poop, run up to the owner and throw it at them while saying here, you forgot something. If in a not so grumpy mood I'd follow them home, then come back with their now sloppy wet down poo and deposit it in their letterbox with a note, also saying you left something behind.

The DNA profiling is probably a more civilised solution though.

[Tapferhund]

I am in full agreement that people should pick up after their dogs but it annoys when I see dog people being so petty in turning on their own in wanting people fined for not doing as they should ........

I don't regard dog owners who don't obey the law as "my own".

People who don't do the right thing as dog owners cost the rest of us dearly. If you think wanting to see them being held responsible for breaking the laws that the rest of us obey is "petty" then colour me petty with sparkles.

I'm petty enough to get the complete shits with people who think that laws don't apply to them and their dogs and who don't give a rats arse who they inconvenience when they breach them. Talk to a person in a wheel chair about what its like to end up with dog shit all over their hands from the wheels and then come tell me that folk not doing as they should is no big deal.

What's so petty about wanting to see people penalised for failing to obey the law? Leash laws and no dog parks are the direct result of irresponsible dog owners. So is BSL.

when a suspected rapist or murderer has rights that says he is allowed to refuse being DNA tested

Rubbish. If consent is required and they don't comply you go get yourself a warrant and compel the test. If he takes a dump in a public park then you sure don't need a warrant to collect a sample.

You have no idea what you're talking about.

My doG PF, get a life! The way you're carrying on over a bit of dog poop tells me there's not a lot important going on in your life. Either that or the streets where you live are ALWAYS knee deep in dog shit with heaps of wheelchair bound folk pushing through it.

If an odd lump of dog poop not picked up by the offending dogs owner is the worst thing in your life....then you've got a pretty good life!

Sheez

[felix]

And then people complain about more and more fines and restrictions on dog ownership.

Personally I would introduce fines so high that would pay all expenses (DNA if necessary) and then some. I would really like to see a person that is facing $1000 or more fine walking away form their dog poop.

[raz]

My doG PF, get a life! The way you're carrying on over a bit of dog poop tells me there's not a lot important going on in your life. Either that or the streets where you live are ALWAYS knee deep in dog shit with heaps of wheelchair bound folk pushing through it.

If an odd lump of dog poop not picked up by the offending dogs owner is the worst thing in your life....then you've got a pretty good life!

Sheez

It's not the odd lump. The way you're carrying on about a bit of poop gives the impression you dont pick up after your dog either. If every dog owner did something as simple as bend down, pick up their dog's shit and put it in the bin, there'd be less people screaming to crack down on dog owners. Pretty simple concept - I'm not sure why you dont understand it.

[Aussienot]

"I'd grab that poop, run up to the owner and throw it at them while saying here, you forgot something."

LOL, I actually did this once. So tired of the same dog owner using my nature strip to let her dog poop, and letting her dog mark on my newly painted fence. I was gardening, saw her dog poop and as she walked away, so I grabbed it up (was wearing gloves) and ran after her, calling out, You dropped something. When she turned around to see what it was, I grabbed her hand and dropped the poop in it.

After that, she always crossed the street so that her dog did not toilet at the crazy lady's house. Still never picked it up.

Got to come down on there should be penalties/fines for not cleaning up after your dog. I always pick up after the daycare dogs, and am paranoid when I see other dogs poop on the grounds surrounding the business. Who do you think will be blamed? My business. So often I end up picking up other dog's poop. And it irritates the crap out of me. Although once, I did find a two dollar coin in the poo, a tiny bit of payback.

DNA profiling is way over the top, but I understand the sentiment behind it.

Edited November 23, 2010 by Aussienot

[raz]

After that, she always crossed the street so that her dog did not toilet at the crazy lady's house. Still never picked it up.

Unbelievable. You know, if a human dropped his pants and left one on her front lawn every morning there would be bloody outrage. I would have reported her to the ranger - filthy old bitch!

[poodlefan]

Taperhund:

My doG PF, get a life! The way you're carrying on over a bit of dog poop tells me there's not a lot important going on in your life. Either that or the streets where you live are ALWAYS knee deep in dog shit with heaps of wheelchair bound folk pushing through it.

If an odd lump of dog poop not picked up by the offending dogs owner is the worst thing in your life....then you've got a pretty good life!

As usual failing to successfully argue with facts sees you resort to personal insult and hyperbole Taperfund. Seems to me that the "carrying on" is coming from your end.

You have no idea what's going on my my life - or indeed what's going on in the world of dog ownership it seems. Do you even live in a suburb?

EVERY irresponsible dog owner is another nail in the coffin of the privileges of the rest of us.

And FYI my local primary school oval is literally covered in dog shit. Dogs are BANNED from primary school ovals in this city. I'd love to see those who think that allowing their dogs to shit were kids play every day is just dandy be indentified and cop a decent fine. I'm sure the teachers who have to clean up kids would too. I know who at least some of the offenders are. They are there every morning.

Edited November 23, 2010 by poodlefan