Spain Launches Dog-Poop DNA Scheme to Catch Dog Owners Who Don’t Scoop
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| Great news for Spain as the streets are getting cleaner. |
If we can be a little stereotypical for a second the Spanish
are hardly the most agreeable when they’re asked by their Spanish government to tweak their social behaviour.
The smoking ban in Spain is one such recent example. There
was some initial resistance to the ban when the UK introduced it in 2007, but
it didn’t take too long for people to go along with it. Now Brits can head down
to the pub for a pint without stepping into an ashtray.
Things are still a little foggy in Spain when it comes to
the smoking ban. There are still old rules that decide what does and doesn’t
constitute a place of work. Because of this there is yet to be an acceptance of
the ban across the whole country.
The same could be said of dog mess. Culture has evolved in
the UK to the point where not cleaning up after your dog has become such a
taboo that people are policing themselves these days. There may be fines and
warnings, but what keeps owners cleaning up after their dogs is the stigma and
the tutting that follows them when they don’t.
While it is an offence to not pick up your dog’s mess in
Spain they haven’t adopted the self-policing culture just yet. One authority in
east Spain has gotten so fed up of the issue that they’re going to start taking
DNA samples from dog mess left lying around. The aim is to find the owner
behind it and issue them with a fine.
Officials from Mislata, near Valencia, have confirmed that
street cleaners have been told they should collect samples of any dog mess left
lying in the street so that it can be sent to a laboratory and inspected.
Dog owners in the town have until the end of the year to
have their dog’s DNA registered at the vet free of charge. If they fail to
register their dog’s DNA then they’ll be hit with a €300 fine.
After the sample is taken and the DNA is registered owners
will be issued a €300 fine every time dog mess found on the street matches with
their dog’s DNA in the database.
It might sound a little extreme but if you’ve ever tried to
take in the stunning architecture of Spain only to step in excrement you know how off-putting it can be, with Marbella and other areas following.
