DNA Testing of Bavarian Hounds

11 Feb 09

Officials in the small Bavarian town of Volkach are are planning to obtain DNA samples of every dog in town — so they can identify and fine their two-legged companions when they fail to pick up dog ‘fouling’ in public places.

Peter Kornell, the local mayor, said the scheme involves taking either fur or saliva samples from each of the 420 registered hounds around town. “Unfortunately, we have to do it voluntarily because there is nothing in the constitution about a dog DNA databank being enforceable,” he said.

The mayor is confident the council chamber will pass the law although he admits the price of the scheme — in the range of £80,000 — could prove “tricky” in the current climate.

The plan also calls for a dog warden whose job it will be to collect errant dog poop and match it with the databank.

Residents in districts of Berlin — where the footpaths sometimes resemble open dog sewers — have demanded DNA testing for years. But with the city broke to the tune of billions, it will need a small town like Volkach to pioneer it.

It is against the law for dogs to foul footpaths and play areas, nursery grounds, railway and bus stations, and there are fines when the authorities can be bothered to implement them. Yet dog-fouling and cigarette smoking in pubs where new laws stipulate a total ban are two rare examples where the mass of Germans are happy to break the rules every day.

Even as towns across Germany eagerly await the outcome of this little Bavarian town’s experiment, there are warnings from DNA boffins that the chromosomes of a dog may prove a problem in identifying whodunnit on the High Street.

Professor Christoph Meissner of the Institute of Legal Medicine at the University of Wuerzburg said: “It is possible that dogs of the same race could have the same DNA profile. And from that it could be that the wrong dog will be held accountable for the ‘crime’ of fouling the footpath.”

In Volkach, the debate rages on ahead of the February 20 vote. Some councillors want a 20 euro reward offered to people who squeal on “dirty dogs” (really this should read “lazy dog companions”), while others favour abandoning the database idea for a leaflet drop around town reminding dog owners of their responsibilities.

The city of Dresden contemplated introducing a genetic test for the city’s 12,000 registered dogs a few years ago but dropped the idea on the grounds of costs and bureaucracy.

Other enterprising solutions have also had to be dropped. For example, in Berlin an avant garde artist who tried to clean up the streets by baking dog turds in a kiln in his flat to use as briquettes in solid fuel stoves was forced to stop because the smell was “intolerable” for neighbours.

Awoof! Archie