Dog owners are supposed to clean up their pets’ mess when they poop in public spaces. For those who don’t, they can be fined, if they can be identified.
In the South Tyrol province of Italy, the local government is cracking down on residents who don’t pick up after their dogs.
Veterinary department director Paolo Zambotto said Bolzano residents were complaining about the smelly and icky nuisance, so the local government is requiring the owners of some 40,000 dogs in the city to register their dog’s DNA at their expense starting in March.
At present, Zambotto said, police can only catch the dog owners when they do a stakeout, Sky News reported.
With a database containing local dogs’ genetic fingerprints, authorities would only need to test the DNA of the abandoned poop and match it with the database to identify its source. Wayward pet owners would then be fined from 50 to 500 euros for not cleaning up after their pets. Those who don’t register their dogs would be fined from 292 to 1,048 euros.
In Nepal, officials of Pasang Lhamu town are also cracking down on Mt. Everest climbers who do a No. 2 in the open outside base camps.
The non-government organization Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee estimates that there are around three tons of human excrement between Camp One at the bottom of Everest and Camp Four towards the summit of the world’s highest peak, BBC reported.
The last camp before the summit called South Col at 7,906 meters has reportedly gained a reputation as an “open toilet.”
“There is hardly any ice and snow there, so you will see human stools all around,” international mountain guide Stephen Keck said, according to BBC.
To deal with the problem, rural authorities are requiring Everest climbers to buy biodegradable poo bags at base camp starting in March. The poo bags contain chemicals and powders that solidify human excrement and make it largely odorless.
The bags, which can be used up to five times, would be checked when the climber returns to camp after summiting.
Pasang Lhamu town chairman Mingma Sherpa said an office will be set up where government liaison officers will make sure climbers bring back their excrement, according to BBC.