SCOOP: French Mayor Cracks Down on Dog Poop

The mayor of Béziers, a small city on France’s southern coast, has had it with dog poop. Robert Ménard has decreed that dogs walking on the main streets must have their DNA on file with the local government, so that negligent owners can be tracked down and fined when they fail to clean up after Fifi.

“I can’t stand it anymore,” Ménard told the Washington Post. The mayor can be seen daily walking his own Labrador retriever and can be heard, often, scolding the miscreants who leave the unsightly, unsanitary droppings on the town streets and sidewalks.

The far-right mayor (likes death penalty, does not like gay marriage) has been vying to deploy doggie-DNA registration since 2016, but his efforts have been repeatedly thwarted by the administrative courts. Not any more. The new law took effect last week and is set to continue through July, 2025, at which point its efficacy will be assessed.

Ménard is not alone in the fight against dog poop. Tel Aviv, Israel and Valencia, Spain have been tracking negligent dog owners using DNA – a high-tech stool pigeon – for a couple years, and both cities have seen results.

Authorities in Béziers say the city spends about 80,000 euros ($89,495) per year on doggie-doo cleanup. Now, dog walkers who are not carrying their dog’s genetic passport with them will be fined 38 euros, while untended feces traced back to the owner will incur a cleaning-service fine of 122 euros. Merde!

Photo credit: ouiinfrance.com