Rostock politician demands DNA dog poop testing
A German lawmaker from the Baltic Sea city of Rostock proposed on Monday a high-tech way of dealing with the menace of dog poo on the streets: DNA testing to identify the canine culprit and fine its owner.
Peter Stein, a conservative Christian Democratic state parliamentarian in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, said that under his proposal, officials would test the excrement and then match it up to the offending dog using a DNA database of all pooches.
German dog owners are supposedly fined €30 to €40 ($40-50) if they fail to clean up after their pets, but very few are caught. Stein said last year there were only four fines given out in Rostock – which has a human population 200,000 and 6,500 registered dogs.
“Just saying 'it wasn't my dog' will not wash anymore,” Stein said.
According to the Monday edition of Bild, a doggie doo-doo DNA test would cost €75 each. But adding each pooch to the DNA database would run another €200. “The cost will naturally fall to the dog owners,” said Stein.
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Peter Stein, a conservative Christian Democratic state parliamentarian in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, said that under his proposal, officials would test the excrement and then match it up to the offending dog using a DNA database of all pooches.
German dog owners are supposedly fined €30 to €40 ($40-50) if they fail to clean up after their pets, but very few are caught. Stein said last year there were only four fines given out in Rostock – which has a human population 200,000 and 6,500 registered dogs.
“Just saying 'it wasn't my dog' will not wash anymore,” Stein said.
According to the Monday edition of Bild, a doggie doo-doo DNA test would cost €75 each. But adding each pooch to the DNA database would run another €200. “The cost will naturally fall to the dog owners,” said Stein.
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