Amalfi Coast, DNA Test for Dogs That Make a Dirt

The idea is innovative and, over time, could become a model for addressing the indiscriminate abandonment of dog waste. The prototype was conceived in Atrani, a municipality in the Amalfi Coast of about 800 inhabitants, which intends to create a genetic bank of the dogs present in its territory in order to be able to trace distracted owners through the 'DNA test' and fine them.

In practice, when excrement is found, local police officers in collaboration with the in-house company of the Municipality, will take a sample and have it analyzed, in order to trace the owner of the dog who will be fined. The proposal received the green light from the City Council which, unanimously, voted to modify articles 10 and 17 of the regulation for urban decorum, adopted in 2015.

In particular, during the meeting, it was highlighted that in Atrani there is a widespread presence of "dog feces" in public areas and, in particular, in the streets of the city center, in the green areas, in the playground and in the characteristic alleys of the village. Not exactly a good calling card for a municipality with a tourist vocation and which is just 750 meters from Amalfi, pearl of the Divine and Ancient Maritime Republic.

But the Municipality of Atrani has not only made it a matter of image: for the Administration led by Mayor Luciano de Rosa Laderchi, the abandonment of dog waste also represents a risk to public health, "since - as stated in the proposed resolution - the orofecal cycle parasitoses of dogs have a zoonotic potential, finding in the environment the main and often only source of infestation and diffusion in the animal and human population".

Critical issues that have pushed the municipality of the Amalfi Coast to realize the experimental project that consists in setting up a genetic bank of dogs residing in the municipal territory with the creation of a database in which each microchip is attributed to the genotyping of the animal. A way that, according to the Municipality, will allow both to address the problem of urban decorum and public health, and to trace four-legged friends (and their owners), in any circumstance, if the microchip is no longer readable.

The new regulation for urban decorum, therefore, provides that all owners and holders of dogs who are residents, domiciled or stay for a period longer than seven days in Atrani (including tourists) are required, by September 15, to genetically identify their animal. During this period of time, the procedure - which will be carried out by the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno - will be free of charge.