Dogs on a boulevard cafe in Tel Aviv, on Rothschild Boulevard
It was talked about in 2008 and we reported on it –– that dog inspectors in Tel Aviv were going to track you down by your dog’s poop if you don’t stoop and scoop. Finally the great idea to clean up the city is taking effect. The city will start a bylaw that will make dog owners submit a sample of their pet’s poop when renewing a dog licence in Tel Aviv and Jaffa.
According to the new bylaw, city inspectors will be able to test samples of uncollected dog waste and match it with DNA samples on the municipal database. The relevant dog owner will receive a fine in the post, and even be liable for the sampling and test costs.
We have two dogs (that we adopted from Ramallah where dogs run free and are shot, then thrown in a garbage bin) could we get away with just sending in one sample and poop for the price of one or could they know? Could I enact an evil plot and just send in a sample of my neighbor’s fouling dog? What about the rights of an animal? Can he be sequenced without his consent? I had a dream last night, kid you not, that every animal on the planet was given the same rights as human beings, by us human beings.
One dog for every 10 people
I am sure others will have some better ideas too. The ratio between Tel Aviv-Yafo residents and dogs is among the highest worldwide, with over 40,000 households looking after a four-legged friend – or one dog owner for every 11 residents.
Recognized among the world’s most dog-friendly cities, Tel Aviv offers free dog waste bags in public areas, has established dozens of dog parks throughout the city, and hands out fines to the minority of dog owners who fail to pick up waste in public areas.
According to municipal data, approximately 1000 tons of dog waste is not picked up by dog owners on a monthly basis. We could argue that that amount is just in the neighborhood of Florentine, the foulest smelling neighborhood in the city. Feral cats urinating and defecating everywhere and lack of public toilets make it the stinkiest place in Israel.
It was 13 years since the dog poop DNA test was put into action by an Israeli city. Maybe we can revive Ashpoopie, a hairbrained idea to give your pet’s poop a quick afterlife.
Author: Karin Kloosterman
Karin Kloosterman is an award-winning journalist and publisher that founded Green Prophet to unite a prosperous Middle East. She shows through her work that positive, inspiring dialogue creates action that impacts people, business and planet. She has published in thought-leading newspapers and magazines globally, owns an IoT tech chip patent, and is part of teams that build world-changing products to make agriculture and our planet more sustainable. Reach out directly to [email protected]
