Barking and Dagenham Council will be the first in the UK to use forensic testing to catch owners who fail to clear up after their dog. At their dog fouling summit this week the council announced their plan to collect a cheek swab from dogs in the area, send them to a laboratory for testing and then enter the dog’s profile to a central register, compiled by PooPrints UK. You might be reading this and wondering if the council is barking mad (sorry for the pun) or maybe you are thinking they have gone one poo print too far (sorry.. I can't help it!) but after years of asking people to clean up, it seems we have arrived at a time when only science will help resolve this age old issue. With the town hall in this borough currently spending £2.3 million each year clearing up dog faeces, it has become both a health protection and financial issue.
After looking at this from a social marketing perspective it is probably the last missing puzzle piece. Years back we had posters and advertising. In fact we still have it. The latest from Keep Britain Tidy glows in the dark and informs dog owners that we are watching them. Various campaigns over the years has raised awareness and frightened poor parents about the hazards of children rubbing dog poo near their eyes. There is no doubt that this would have led to dog owners picking up the poo, but not all.
If you are lucky, you might have a dog warden out on patrol in towns and villages spying, following and observing dog owners. Councils up and down the country have invested in special bins and manufacturers have invented several 'support' tools such as poop scoops, scented bags and even dog nappies. There is no doubt that It has become socially unacceptable to allow your dog to foul and there has been many neighbour arguments on this issue. But still we are discussing dog poo on our streets in 2015.
The threat of a £1000 fine doesn't even appear to stop some lazy dog owners. And the reason is probably because unless there is a sharp and alert warden working voluntarily in the village that you happen to be walking your dog in, the likelihood of being caught and fined is slim. Research by ENCAMS found that dog owners know that they could be fined, but the majority did not believe they would be caught and so here lies the problem. Typical quotes from the research included: “It could be £50,000 (the fine), but who is going to enforce it?” and “I don’t know anybody who has been fined”.
Until DNA testing. In America and other parts of the world testing dog poo (not on my list of top jobs but thankfully somebody is keen) has been very successful. It has reduced the amount of doggy poo on our streets and this is because it solves the problem I have just described. For the first time EVER dog owners believe that they might not get away with it if there are DNA testers out there. Think Sherlock of the dog world. Why aren't all councils this forward thinking? The council are of course piloting for forensic dog mess testing first which is a sensible thing as it does sound expensive, and if successful, it will be rolled out across the council area from September 2016. Bosses are also currently discussing how this could be combined with the forthcoming requirement from April 2016 for all dogs to be microchipped.
With dog bins, pretty poop scoop tools and lavender flavoured waste bags, good promotional material reminding dog owners of their responsibilities (and the potential for a huge fine if their dog DNA matches) we may have finally won the war on dog poo.
