Dog DNA to Prosecute Owners?

I have seen this more than once now, including as an April Fools Story. Cities creating a database of canine DNA in order to track down owners who fail to clean up after their pets.

Well the story has resurfaced again….

In Dresden, Germany, a citizen commission overwhelmingly recommended a plan where DNA samples would be collected from all dogs when their owners renew their annual canine license. It is projected that within one year, a database of Dresden’s currently registered 12,500 canines would be complete. At that point sanitation workers would begin carrying feces-sample kits and submit evidence to a forensics laboratory, where scientists could easily match the feces to dog. The dog’s owner would be promptly fined up to (the equivalent of) $600 US dollars. Dresden’s commission projects a break-even point after about seven months at which point the city would start to turn a profit.

While in the past I have seen this story surface as a joke it seems that the idea of creating a DNA database to fine errant dog owners seems to be picking up steam and gaining more wide spread support. In the mean time I am going to keep my eyes posted to see how this story unfolds.