Another Reason to Scoop Poop

The Scoop on Poop

Better start remembering those tidy little poop baggies when you walk the dog or you could get ID-ed after the fact.

By the DNA in your dog's droppings.

Uh-huh.

Municipalities in Israel, Italy and Germany are entertaining the notion of building a database of canine DNA, linking it to the owner's identity and using it to determine the "owner" of doggy deposits found loitering in public pathways.

The town of Petah-Tikvah, outside Tel Aviv in Israel began pursuing the idea in September, 2008. Petah-Tikvah's chief municipal veterinarian, Tika Bar-On, is spearheading the endeavor, encouraging citizens to register their dog's DNA with the city's proposed database. Compulsory registration is being considered.

Alternatively, the use of positive reinforcement is being considered, rewarding those who deposit their dog's deposits into appropriate containers with coupons or gift certificates for pet toys or food.

The German burgh of Volkach is watching with intentions of following the Israeli hamlet's example. Mayor Peter Kornell has it mapped out: saliva or hair samples are to be taken from each of the township's 400+ dogs. It has to be voluntary, since the framers of the modern German constitution seemingly hadn't the foresight to leave a clause allowing the forcible collection of canine DNA.

The cost is prohibitive as well. A town with a small dog population similar to Volkach's would be looking at an additional $78,000 EU (roughly $108,700 U.S.) to implement the program. Expenses would be ongoing, with the need for personnel to patrol and collect "evidence," lab work, clerks to administer the necessary paperwork and the costs of enforcement.

A city of 45,000 in Italy, Vercelli, has plans to set up the same type of program, collecting DNA from all registered dogs. Presumably unregistered dogs are either nonexistent in Vercelli or they are going to remain free range dumpers.

Vercelli officials have worked out the cost per dog of gathering DNA at $13 EU per dog (approximately $19 U.S.), but, according to news releases, the town's financial officers haven't worked out the costs of creating, maintaining and utilizing the database or enforcement.

The city of Berlin is watching. It seems there is a problem with extreme amounts of excrement on the city streets and Berliners have been clamoring for a solution -- notably the DNA solution -- for a considerable time. The logistics of a database program for a city the size of Berlin (3.5 million people, 107,400+ registered dogs), however, are daunting. The potential burden on taxpayers is appalling. The price of registration could be raised to include a mandatory collection of sample DNA, but that would likely result in fewer dogs being registered, and rather than face a stiff fine when caught with an unregistered dog, some owners are simply going to abandon their dogs to the streets, adding not only to the feces fiasco, but the stray population and the expense of rounding them up and sending them to the pound.

The concept is inherently flawed if there isn't mandatory registration that is strictly enforced -- and that's expensive, not to mention all the philosophical, ethical, legal and political considerations that spectre raises. And it's not likely that those who aren't accustomed to cleaning up after their dogs are likely to voluntarily register with the database.

Dresden, Germany, toyed with the idea a few years ago, but abandoned it due to the cost and impracticality.

Then there's the flaw in the science. At least one scientist warns that we don't -- ironically -- have enough data on canine chromosomes to be able to say that one unique dog can be identified by its DNA; the DNA structure for dogs of a particular "race" could be, as far as we are now feasibly capable of determining, virtually identical.

This dilemma has a simple solution; the same simple solution for most pet related problems: responsible ownership. If you walk your dog in public, populated areas, just pick up the poo, please.

Provided by the writers at Pet Super Store: go to our site to find deals on dog training collars.