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Poop Database

dfm/th/afpMarch 2, 2009

Poop patrol just got a whole lot more serious in Germany after a lawmaker proposed a new, high-tech way of handling the hidden menace of dog poo on city streets.

https://p.dw.com/p/H4Dd
A close-up of a dog
City streets could get a lot cleaner under the new proposalImage: Picture-Alliance/Agentur

Peter Stein, a conservative politician in eastern Germany, says DNA testing could be used to identify doggy doo-doo and compile rap sheets using a pooch database.

He said canine culprits' owners could then be fined for multiple acts of failing to clean up their dog's discharge while walking them.

Dog owners in Germany are fined 30-40 euros ($40-50) if caught failing to clean up after their pets in public. However, very few owners are caught. Only four fines were given last year in Stein's hometown of Rostock, which has a population of around 200,000.

"Just saying 'it wasn't my dog' will not wash anymore," Stein says.

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