The municipality of Tres Cantos, in the Community of Madrid, is using canine DNA to identify owners who leave waste on public roads, imposing fines between €300 and €600, in a strategy that aims to reinforce urban cleaning and the responsible use of public space.
The information was provided by the Spanish newspaper AS, which revealed that the council decided to move forward with a genetic identification system applied to excrement collected on the street.
The objective, according to statements cited in the press, is simple and direct: reduce the presence of waste on sidewalks and parks and increase the responsibility of those who walk dogs.
Contrary to what many people imagine, this is not a permanent “patrol” looking for infractions at every corner. The logic involves actions on random days, in which a laboratory technician and a police officer travel through areas of the municipality to locate uncollected waste.
Then, the “invisible” work is done: the excrement is analyzed and the canine DNA is compared with a database of registered dogs, allowing us to reach the animal and, consequently, its owner.
The municipality had already been preparing this type of control, with DNA registration initiatives associated with locally defined deadlines and procedures, precisely to enable identification when incidents arise on the street.
Fines from €300 to €600 and the “recidivism effect”
The planned sanctions point to a clear range: the first fine could start at 300 euros and, in the case of a repeat offense, go up to 600 euros, according to information published in Spanish media.
The local council frames these fines as a tool to improve cleaning and allow “aceras and parks” to be enjoyed in better conditions, in a logic of coexistence and public health.
In Telemadrid, Public Health observer, Mario Arancón, summarizes the intention with a phrase that has not been replicated: “The fundamental objective is to clean the streets, to have all the sidewalks and parks in the municipality clean of excrement so that we can enjoy them in the best possible way.”
This is not the only case: Torrejón also tightened rules and fines
Tres Cantos is not alone in this line of greater control. In Torrejón de Ardoz, the municipality launched a “Permanent Cleaning Shock Plan”, with increased sanctions for behaviors considered basic, including incorrect disposal of waste and failure to collect dog waste.
According to an official note from the municipality, not collecting excrement is punishable by fines of 300 euros and there is also the obligation to carry a bottle of water to clean the urine, in addition to fines of 90 euros for those who leave rubbish outside the containers.
The logic, as in other municipal measures, brings together two objectives: reducing visible dirt in public spaces and creating a deterrent effect that changes everyday habits.
The debate that remains: civility, supervision and “zero tolerance”
This type of measures tends to divide opinions: there are those who see them as necessary “zero tolerance”, especially in areas with a lot of traffic, and those who raise doubts about the scope of inspection and the balance between control and awareness.
According to , and for local authorities, the argument is pragmatic: when educational campaigns are not enough, there are leftover monitoring instruments with significant fines to stop repeated and difficult-to-control behaviors.
In Tres Cantos, the focus on canine DNA seeks exactly that: transforming a daily problem, waste left on the street, into a traceable and sanctionable act, with the clear message that cleaning will now have consequences for your pocket.
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