Edinburgh doggie DNA database is not as barking as it first appears

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SOME readers regularly comment that this column is usually filled with absolute s***e.

So, as if to emphasise the point, today’s offering features the aftermath of dog fouling quite prominently.

It follows a council motion laid down at Edinburgh council that is calling for sweeping new powers to clean up the streets of the capital, which have become a bit of a mess.

Councillor Christopher Cowdy believes it is now so serious that some radical action is needed, so he is proposing a dog DNA database is formed for all canines across the city.

This would allow the council to track down the owners from their dog’s mess on pavements and issue them with fines of up to £80.

I suppose it will be need to be installed by a Corgi-registered engineer with the results kept in a Lab.

But is he barking up the wrong tree with this proposal or does it deserve a round of a-paws instead?

According to the council motion, around 24% of the city’s population own dogs, with all of them presumably needing a good walk at least once a day.

This is quite a large number of dogs and thankfully they will all be walked at different times, otherwise there could be quite a bit of pavement congestion and the parks would be full.

Of course, this means that quite a large amount of mess will be deposited too, which if left unchecked could cause a bit of health hazard as well as a horrendous smell.

According to the council, over the last six years there have been an average of 347 street enforcement dog fouling complaints each year.

The vast majority of dog owners, in Edinburgh and beyond, are responsible and will make sure the mess is deposited safely in the bin, with councils now providing special doggie versions.

However, there are a hardcore of dog owners who literally don’t give a s*** about the mess left behind and it these folk that Councillor Cowdy has in mind with his proposals.

He is suggesting various options to help combat dog fouling that includes improving enforcement and the use of fixed penalty notices.

But, councillors are also being asked to consider the practicalities of establishing the dog DNA register for the city, how it could be enforced and how much might be funded through issuing of fines.

Now, a cynic may see the last par and assume that it is another wheeze by cashstrapped council to raise extra funds and to be fair, it is very tempting to take that view.

Edinburgh’s streets could, almost literally, be paved with gold if every owner of a canine miscreant is tracked down and fined £80.

However, there is no doubt that dog fouling remains a huge problem in many of our towns and cities and any initiative, however barking it may seem, to crack down should be welcomed.

After all, if a DNA database is good enough for a dog-loving country like France, then it should be a goer here too.

A pilot scheme in Beziers in the southwest of France will require all owners to carry their pet’s “genetic passport” in a trial scheme to reduce dog excrement on the streets.

Local mayor Robert Ménard says inhabitants and visitors are fed up with faeces on the town’s pavements.

He plans to introduce a two-year experiment to trace and fine those who fail to clear up after their pets.

Dog owners will be required to take their pets to a vet or ask one of the town’s veterinary specialists for a free saliva sample, which will be genetically tested and a document issued.

Those subsequently stopped without their dog’s genetic passport will be fined €38.

Dog excrement found on the pavement will be collected and tested, and the details sent to police, who will consult the national pet registers and match it to a specific owner who will face a bill for street cleaning up to €122.

This tail requires a paws for thought, as the move has left many dog owners in Beziers with long faces.

But while it may seem draconian, clearing up dog’s mess from the city costs around €50,000 a year.

Responsible dog owners have nothing to fear from the proposals, and many in Edinburgh will follow the lead and participate in the scheme fully.

However, it is unlikely that the worst offenders will want anything to do with it, as they know they’ll get caught, so it is hard to see how it will actually reduce the problem.

Making it compulsory, I suspect, will face all sorts of legal challenges too.

Which leaves the council with just one option – call in Lassie and Scooby Doo to track down the culprits instead.