Belfast dog fouling issue could be tackled with DNA testing

Dog fouling mess could be DNA tested to sniff out offenders.

A motion for Belfast Council officers to assess the possibility of analysing animal excrement was passed at a People and Communities Committee last night.

Derry and Strabane Council, whose mayor lost her sight in one eye after picking up dog mess as a child, is also considering its feasability.

Alliance Ormiston Councillor Ross McMullan said the council gets 100 complaints about dog fouling a month.

But last year, just 69 owners were fined.

He said: "We're talking about thousands of bits of dog poo, so looking at these sort of measures, as extreme as they may sound, is important."

The scheme has already taken root in Spain and the UK.

Last year an English council floated - but ultimately rejected - a plan to enter dogs' DNA into a database to trace the animal's owner if they didn't pick up after it.

Another UK council has run a pilot.

Mr McMullan said he just wants to explore what's possible.

He said: "The point is us identifying what would be necessary to actually bring in dog DNA testing - it’s not an issue with technology, the testing is there.

"It’s for council officers to come back with some of those recommendations in the next couple of months."

Mr McMullan's motion read: "The Council agrees, therefore, to undertake its own scoping exercise of DNA testing and to bring back recommendations on whether it is something that could be adopted for Belfast.”

It was amended to include that the council also consider other measures to stop dog fouling.

It will go before the full council to be ratified next month.