Dog DNA database 'would solve dog-poo issue'

A national dog DNA database is required to deal with owners who fail to pick up after their pets, a councillor says.

It comes after North Somerset Council said it would recruit private contractors to increase its ability to fine more offenders.

Independent councillor John Ley-Morgan said the measure was insufficient and the government should introduce DNA dog profiling to catch the culprits.

The Kennel Club said the costly scheme would be an ineffective solution.

Private contractors are set to be brought in by North Somerset Council to patrol problem areas and enforce a zero-tolerance policy on people leaving dog mess behind.

Using a public space protection order, contractors along with police and council staff would be able to issue a £75 on-the-spot fine.

The independent Weston-super-Mare Uphill member, Councillor Ley-Morgan criticised the authority's new approach to dog fouling and argued that more needed to be done at a national level to solve the problem.

He suggested dog owners should be required to have their dog's DNA recorded so that any dog mess not picked up could be tested, checked against the database and the owner fined.

Mr Ley-Morgan said: "If people know that whatever they do, wherever they do it, they're going to get caught I would just bet that it would resolve the matter throughout the country overnight."

"It's got to be done at government level not us putting piddly little notices up."

He made the comments at a scrutiny committee last week discussing the public space protection order fines that will be handed out to owners, according to the Local Democracy reporting service.

Small scale schemes have been trialled in the UK by Barking and Dagenham Council in 2016.

While the authority hailed it as a success, halving the amount of dog mess on the street, it acknowledged it was mainly responsible dog owners who signed up to the scheme.

A spokesperson from The Kennel Club said: "We strongly believe that there is little merit to introducing the use of DNA testing of dog faeces outside of very limited situations and do not believe that this would be an effective solution to prevent dog fouling on a countrywide basis."