Council rules out DNA testing to catch dog fouling culprits
Getty ImagesA council have ruled out using DNA technology to try and catch dog fouling culprits - after accepting that the owners of the animals would not volunteer to take part.
The concept typically involves owners registering their pet's DNA so that waste can be lab-tested and checked against a database.
Renfrewshire Council said it would consider new ways of tackling dog-fouling in the region, such as looking at CCTV footage, but that DNA testing was not being considered.
Senior officials at the local authority confirmed that plain-clothes patrols have now been trialled amid enforcement challenges.
Gerard Hannah, the council's head of climate, public protection and roads, addressed the topic at a meeting of the council's communities and housing policy board.
He said: "One thing we probably won't be pursuing is around the DNA technology aspects.
"There are many good reasons for doing something like that but other reasons such as the type of people who aren't picking up their dog fouling are the type of people who are not going to volunteer to participate in something like that.
"That's probably the simplest way around it but we're always happy to consider new ways of looking at things."
He added there had been an ongoing awareness campaign in the area – including new signage, social media messaging and 'days of action' taking place - and these showed how hard it is to enforce restrictions on dog fouling.
He said: "The minute anyone with a dog on the lead sees a couple of people walking towards them with hi-vis vests on, sure enough, the dog bags come out. The team have been trialling plain-clothes patrols.
"We're in the very early days of the new communications campaign that we launched around dog fouling and trying to really raise the profile of it."
Councillor James MacLaren, a Conservative representative for Bishopton, Bridge of Weir and Langbank, conceded dog fouling was a "big problem" in his ward.
He added: "We will be, I'm sure, looking to see what other councils are doing to try and tackle this problem because it will be a nationwide problem."
