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A town in France is trailing the idea of a genetic passport for pooches to combat the infuriating problem of poo left on the footpath.
The DNA of abandoned excrement will be determined by enforcers of the policy, and dog owners will be fined for the cleanup, under the two-year experiment.
Dog owners in Béziers, a town in the south of France, will need a document which genetically identifies their dogs, and will be fined 38 euros ($A62.30) for failing to carry the passport while walking their dogs, Béziers mayor Robert Ménard told local radio.
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They would also be fined 122 euros ($A200) if collected dog poo is found to have come from their pet.
The mayor has been mulling the idea for years, but a previous plan was revoked in 2016 over concerns it hampered freedoms, according to Radio France Bleu.
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No appeal was filed against Ménard’s new attempt to get the scheme off the ground in May, and he announced on Radio France Bleu last week the plan was now afoot.
If pet owners wish to walk their dogs along the town’s main promenade, the Paul-Riquet, and the surrounding alleyways and streets, they will need a veterinarian to provide them with the document proving their dog’s genetic identification, it reports.
The document will be free, and informed by a saliva sample to be collected from the animal by a veterinarian, the cost of which will be footed by authorities.
Dog poo found littered in the area will be picked up and analysed by the municipality.
The move follows outrage from the mayor over the problem.
“We did a countdown. We pick up more than a thousand every month. Sometimes much more, just in the city centre,” Ménard told Radio France Bleu.
“I can’t take all this s*** anymore.”
Dogs in Béziers, France, will be required to carry their dog’s genetic ID while walking them, in a crackdown on abandoned pet excrement. File image. Credit: Getty Images
The town is not the only place to trial the genetic check on dogs in a bid to tackle the issue — Spain, Italy and the UK have all used the strategy.
“It only takes five minutes and it works. Valencia has confirmed to us that it has considerably reduced the number of (droppings),” Ménard said.
Radio France Bleu reports dog faeces in Valencia decreased by 90 per cent in six months following the scheme’s implementation.
It will be enforced in Béziers until July 2025.
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