Tag: dogs

The city of Jerusalem is throwing money at dog poo.

Here’s a story that is doing the rounds in the ‘Believe it or not’ columns of the newspapers. Some boffin is rubbing his hands delightedly, as they’ve actually persuaded the municipality of Jerusalem to commission research into a DNA testing programme… for dog poo. Yes, wardens will be able to do DNA tests on any stray turd in the street, match it to a database of registered dogs, and the convictions will roll in.

Turd

It all seems so simple, and obvious. Why isn’t every city using this wonderful new technology? Why indeed. Let’s see if we can find out.  Continue reading The city of Jerusalem is throwing money at dog poo.

Fighting dogs are destroying our urban trees

Dogs bred to fight, and dogs taught to attack people, are a serious problem in this country. It’s even attracting the attention of legislators. Earlier this year in a debate in the House of Lords, Lord Redesdale said:

This is an animal welfare problem and a growing social problem. Intimidation by dogs is now seen as an anti-social behaviour issue.

Dog with muzzle

Dog fighting is a serious issue in urban areas – a BBC report described how

Young men openly parade their illegal pit bull terriers saying how police cannot tell the difference – while the police with stretched resources can only play a limited role in tackling the problem.

What the Ranger didn’t realise is how this problem is affecting the urban forest. Remarkably, a growing number of casualties in the dog wars appear to be trees. Continue reading Fighting dogs are destroying our urban trees