Jerusalem Dog DNA Program Targets Puppy Poo

By Myles Collier, Christian Post Contributor Tuesday, June 12, 2012

In order motivate pet owners to pick up after their pet, the city of Jerusalem is planning to track down offenders using dog's DNA.

The Jerusalem municipality is in the process of developing a database that will contain the DNA sequences of dogs registered in the Holy City in an attempt to combat the growing problem of canine fecal matter littering the walkways.

Representatives from the city's municipality released a statement in which they described the protocol they would be following to complete the DNA testing. According to the statement, workers with the municipality would start by taking saliva samples from dogs when they receive their yearly vaccinations and then take the results and upload them to a citywide database.

"The municipality pilot project calls for establishment of a database of dog DNA to allow us to reduce the soiling of pavements, parks and public spaces," the statement read, as reported by Israel's daily newspaper Haaretz.

After the DNA database has been completed, the city will begin testing samples to see whether the samples can be effectively and efficiently matched to owners who do not pick up after their pets.

The municipality explained that it hoped to get the saliva samples from between 70 and 80 percent of the dogs who are registered with the city of Jerusalem, as reported by Haaretz.

According to local officials, there are currently about 11,000 dogs registered in Jerusalem and once the database is completely functional they will begin the levy fines to offending pet owners. The owner will receive a fine of 750 shekels- about $200.

Zohar Dvorkin, a local veterinarian, stated that the new database system would help curtail the problem of pet owners not picking up after their pets.

"This way, there will be nowhere to run," he told Haaretz.