Dog owners in the charming southern French town of Béziers are about to embark on a unique adventure: carrying their furry companions’ “genetic passports.”
The town’s residents and visitors have grown weary of dodging unsightly surprises while strolling through the town. Mayor Robert Ménard plans to launch a two-year experiment that involves tracing and fining those irresponsible dog owners who neglect their cleanup duties.
Dog owners will be required to visit a local vet or veterinary specialist to obtain a free saliva sample from their four-legged friends. The samples will then undergo genetic testing, and voilà! The dogs will receive their own official genetic passports.
But here’s the catch: anyone caught roaming the streets without their dog’s genetic passport will face a fine of about $42. And that’s not the end of the fur-filled tale. Should any doggy droppings be found on the pavement, they will be collected and subjected to meticulous testing. The results will be cross-referenced with the national pet registers, leading the authorities straight to the negligent owner. And they won’t get away easily—the culprit may be slapped with a bill of up to $136 for the street cleaning services.