◎羅彥傑

Dog excrement used to be merely a nuisance to pedestrians, now it could be used as evidence against pet owners and may lead to fines.

狗大便過去只是讓路人感到討厭的東西，現在它可能作為不利於飼主的證據，而且可能導致被罰錢。

A town in northern Italy plans to create a DNA database of all registered dogs and then test droppings left on pavements and in parks to identify the culprit and fine owners who fail to clean up after their pets, La Stampa daily reported.

義大利北部一處城鎮，打算替所有登記有案的狗成立DNA資料庫，然後檢驗遺留在人行道上與公園內的糞便，以找出禍首，並針對未能在寵物排便後清理的飼主罰款，《新聞報》報導說。

"If signs and invitations aren’t enough, we’ll try genetics. I want a clean city," Antonio Prencipe, councillor in charge of the environment in Vercelli, a town of some 45,000 inhabitants near Turin, told the paper.

「如果告示牌與勸說都不夠，我們將試試遺傳學。我希望有一個乾淨的城市。」安東尼奧普列塞普，負責杜林附近、人口約4萬5000的瓦赤利鎮環境事務的參事，告訴該報。

The Israeli town of Petah Tikva launched a similar six-month trial program earlier this month, under which dog owners were asked to take their animals to a municipal veterinarian, who then swabs its mouth and collects DNA.

以色列佩塔帝克華鎮本月稍早也推出類似的半年試驗計畫。根據這項計畫，狗主人被要求帶所飼動物給公家獸醫看，獸醫會擦拭牠的口腔，蒐集DNA。

新聞辭典

in charge of：片語，主管、負責。例句：An experienced engineer is in charge of the project.（一位有經驗的工程師負責這項工程。）

clean up：片語，清理、打掃乾淨。例句：My mother cleans up the kitchen everyday.（我媽媽每天都會把廚房打掃乾淨。）

swab：動詞，用拭子擦拭或抹片。例句：The doctor swabbed a patient’s throat.（醫師用拭子擦拭一名病患的喉嚨。）