Israeli town plans to use dog DNA to fight pet waste problem
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If you’ve ever stepped in something unpleasant and silently cursed the owner who didn’t clean up after the pet, you know the frustration felt by residents of the Israeli town of Petah Tikva.
The town, fed up with unchecked pet waste, is taking an unusual step to crack down on the problem: Residents are creating a DNA database of Petah Tikva’s canine residents. Authorities plan to use the database to connect droppings to the owners of the dogs who left them -- and so far, the town’s human residents approve of the measure. From the BBC:
‘My goal is to get the residents involved and tell them that together, we can make our environment clean,’ Tika Bar-On, the city’s chief veterinarian, told Reuters news agency.... At the moment providing a DNA sample was up to individual dog owners, but the city was considering making it compulsory, she added.
And the idea of tracking waste violations through dog DNA might be catching on: a town in Northern Italy plans to follow suit.
To see a video explaining the DNA extraction process, check out the BBC’s website.
-- Lindsay Barnett
Related:
Three good reasons to pick up after your dog.