- Title: ISRAEL: Israeli city uses first ever dog DNA bank to fight poop
- Date: 17th September 2008
- Summary: PETAH TIKVA, ISRAEL (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PASTING POSTERS CALLING ON PEOPLE TO JOIN THE PROJECT VIEW OF VETERINARIAN WHO DEVELOPED PROJECT, DOCTOR TIKA BAR ON AND ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS COLLECTING FAECES VIEW OF BAR-ON COLLECTING FAECES VIEW OF FAECES SAMPLES IN TUBE (SOUNDBITE) (English) VETERINARIAN WHO DEVELOPED PROJECT, DOCTOR TIKA BAR ON SAYING: "The idea is to
- Embargoed: 2nd October 2008 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Israel
- Country: Israel
- Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
- Reuters ID: LVAEHSIM9J1AHF7YWE3NWYS1KGET
- Story Text: Israeli vet develops DNA bank for dogs to promote green environement.
An Israeli city is using DNA analysis of dog droppings to reward and punish pet owners.
Under a six-month trial programme launched this week, the city of Petah Tikva, a suburb of Tel Aviv, is asking dog owners to take their animal to a municipal veterinarian, who then swabs its mouth and collects DNA.
The city will use the DNA database it is building to match faeces to a registered dog and identify its owner.
Owners who scoop up their dogs' droppings and place them in specially marked bins on Petah Tikva's streets will be eligible for rewards of pet food coupons and dog toys.
But droppings found underfoot in the street and matched through the DNA database to a registered pet could earn its owner a municipal fine.
"The idea is to cooperate with the citizens of this city to make them understand the importance of a clean city the green environment that is very advanced in all the world its very important and we don't want to punish them we just want them to realize what is the importance of a clean city," said Tika Bar-On, the city's chief veterinarian who came up with the idea for the DNA experiment.
Bar-On and enforcement officers pasted posters in the neighbourhood park, calling on community members to come hear more about the project about to be launched.
"We are launching a first ever pilot for a DNA database and this neighbourhood has been chosen for the pilot. What we would like to achieve is a clean city, a clean neighbourhood," said Bar On.
Back at the kennel, Bar On demonstrated the test dogs undergo to determine their DNA.
"What I am doing right now is just taking a sample of the saliva from the mouth of the dog. I take this stick I put it in the mouth and the sample is ready. I will send it to the laboratory and we have the answer in two days," explained Bar On.
"There is no two dogs that have identical DNA. So we take advantage of this known fact and we are establishing DNA bank," explained Doctor Aviv Kahana, who runs the laboratory in Nes Tziona in central Israel where the saliva is analysed and stored in a data base.
Kahana said the DNA database could also help veterinarians research genetic diseases in dogs, investigate canine pedigree and identify stray animals, replacing the need for electronic chip identification.
"Having the DNA means that in the future already now in the world many genetic disease some of them that are zonatic, meaning they may pass through the owners of the dogs, maybe dangerous to us. Some genetic diseases can be recognized in this dog," said Kahana.
Bar On said Petah Tikva would consider making it mandatory for pet owners to provide DNA samples from their dogs, if the trial programme is successful. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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