One of Italy’s provinces will use DNA tests to track dog owners who don’t clean up their excrement left on the streets, Reuters reports.

Dog with ownerPhoto: Greg Gard / Alamy / Profimedia Images

Once the dog DNA database is complete, street cleaners and health workers in the city of Bolzano will be able to collect droppings for genetic testing. Once the dogs and their owners are identified through DNA analysis, irresponsible owners can be fined between €50 and €500.

The provincial government, which is responsible for the administration of the city of Bolzano and neighboring towns in the scenic Dolomites region, intends to include all the almost 40,000 dogs in the area in a database.

Paolo Zambotto, director of the region’s veterinary department, told Reuters that about 10,000 dogs were already registered in the database.

“Bolzano annually registers several hundred complaints from citizens regarding improper management of state lands. About half of them are related to dogs,” said the Italian official.

“The law enforcement officers were able to catch only 3-4 of them (not negligent owners), because they have to go there and arrange some kind of ambush,” he explained.

Owners who refuse DNA testing of their dogs will be fined

From the end of March, registration of dogs in the base will become mandatory, and owners will have to pay for blood tests of their pets. In Italy, their prices range from 65 to 100 euros.

Owners who refuse a DNA test of their dogs will be fined between 292 and 1,048 euros.

The authorities also expect the costs of managing and administering the database to be covered by the fines imposed.

Bolzano is the administrative center of the province of the same name in northern Italy, on the border with Austria. It enjoys administrative autonomy from Rome and has the right to set its own laws and regulations on a wide range of issues.

However, Zambotto says that the system devised by local authorities can serve as inspiration for other Italian provinces. Tourists and out-of-towners will be exempted from the legal obligation to register their dogs in the local database.