Use DNA tests to get to the bottom of dog fouling – Durcan

Edwin McGreal

Every dog in Castlebar should be DNA tested in order to find out which ones are dog fouling on the street and not being cleaned up by their owners.
That was the suggestion made by Cllr Frank Durcan at last Thursday’s Castlebar Municipal District monthly meeting.
“This is done in some cities in Europe. Every dog is bloodtested by the vet. Then there’s a record of their DNA and the rest is easy. We should be the first town to bring it in and from what I can see there would be no need for parking charges if these dog owners were prosecuted,” he said.
Cllr Thérèse Ruane said this was a problem which was not being addressed.
“It’s life-threatening in some cases but nothing is being done about it. I counted 19 cases of it as I walked from my home to the council chamber. Every dog has to be micro-chipped now, so it shouldn’t be too hard to introduce it,” she said.
Cllr Michael Kilcoyne said the lack of enforcement for any dog fouling in the town meant people were less likely to clean up after their dogs.
“Numerous complaints have been made about this around the town and down at Lough Lannagh but not a thing is being done about it. There are cameras at the lake but still nothing happens,” he said.
Mayo County Secretary John Condon said that dogs had to be ‘caught in the act’ before a prosecution could be brought. Cllr Durcan quipped that the dogs might have been wearing sunglasses to hide their identity.
It was agreed that the Veterinary Department of Mayo County Council ought to investigate the situation and report back to the next meeting of Castlebar Municipal District.