Beware of the Dog

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A French town will require dog owners to carry “passports” for their animals, after a mayor became fed up with dog feces littering the streets of his southern municipality, the Washington Post reported this week.

Starting in July, dog owners in Béziers will have to register the DNA of their pets by a saliva sample with the local government and carry a document proving they complied with the town’s regulations.

If dog waste is found, the city will test it to identify the responsible pet and charge the owner for its cleanup.

Following a two-month grace period, owners who don’t have a genetic passport will be fined around $43. Meanwhile, people who don’t pick up after their animals will face a bill from the city’s cleaning service of around $136.

Mayor Robert Ménard said the initiative is aimed at highlighting the lack of civility in France and reducing the sanitation costs involved in cleaning up dog feces.

According to the mayoral decree, the city spends more than $89,000 annually cleaning up after dogs. Dog waste can also pose health risks because it can carry microorganisms, including antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Ménard is optimistic about the policy’s effectiveness, citing successful examples from other cities that have implemented such initiatives, such as Tel Aviv, Israel and Valencia, Spain.

Even so, questions remain over the policy’s implementation, the accuracy of DNA tests, and what the costs would be.