Woofdunnit? Jerusalem Creating Doggie DNA Database to Trace Droppings

The Jerusalem Municipality has announced it will be setting up a DNA database for the city's dogs in order to better enforce the law requiring owners to pick up their dog's feces.

The method - which identifies the dog's DNA by a saliva sample, and traces it back to the owner - was invented by the Petah Tikva Municipality in 2008, and deemed one of that year's best inventions by the New York Times. However, the project was stalled in Petah Tikva because of a legal obstacle over the issue of requiring dog owners to provide a sample of their pet's saliva for the database. Sources in the Jerusalem Municipality say a municipal by-law already in force allows the city veterinarian to compel dog owners to provide a sample for a DNA bank and to fine owners who do not comply. The city therefore hopes to advance the project and establish a big enough database to bring an end to piles of dog excrement in the street.

The city will first conduct a pilot study to test the ability of a laboratory to match the DNA to the dog. During the second stage, planned for the beginning of next year, owners will be summoned to the municipal veterinarian to give a saliva sample from their dogs.

There are about 11,000 registered dogs in Jerusalem, and another 10 to 15 percent unregistered canines, according to city veterinarian Dr. Zohar Dvorkin. The city says it is optimistic about the feasibility of creating the database, given that about 95 percent of the capital's registered dogs are vaccinated. "The moment we reach 70 percent to 80 percent of registered dogs [in the database], we can start collecting samples of feces," says Dvorkin, adding that inspectors will also photograph the offending pile.

The sample will be sent to a laboratory that will attempt to match it to the DNA in the database. If a match is found, the dog's owner will be fined NIS 750. The cost of testing the DNA is NIS 150.

"It would be enough if we catch one out of every four. But we're not in this to make money; it might even cost us money," says Dvorkin, "but the main thing is we won't be stepping in dog poo when we leave the house, which is both a health and a sanitation problem."

Currently the only way inspectors can issue a fine is if they catch the dog in the act. And even in that case, the dog owner often gets away, notes Dvorkin. "This way, there will be nowhere to run."

Meanwhile, the Petah Tikva Municipality, which pioneered the method, says it is still far from implementing it. However, municipal spokesman Hezi Hakak says that the very fact that the city published the existence of the method has led to a reduction in dog excrement in the street.