In Chiasso, dog owners are now required to clean up after their dogs

In Chiasso, dog owners are now required to clean up after their dogs Keystone-SDA

In a Swiss first, the municipality of Chiasso now requires dog owners to wash away their pets' urine from pavements and building façades.

Any breach of the regulation is punishable by a fine of CHF100. “The new municipal by-law was adopted in mid-June,” a spokesperson for the border town’s council told the Swiss news agency Keystone-SDA. “However, it will not be fully implemented until mid-August, following a public awareness campaign”.

The municipality of Chiasso has 500 dogs, and the measure applies only to owners whose pets urinate on pavements and building facades in the town centre. The decision to introduce these fines was taken for hygiene reasons and because of the odour nuisance, which has been exacerbated by the high temperatures in recent weeks, as is already the case in some European cities. To comply with the new regulation, dog owners walking their pets in the town must carry a water bottle with them to wash away their pets’ urine.

“Owners who fail to comply with the new law will receive an initial warning and will be fined in the event of a repeat offence,” clarified the spokesperson for the mayor’s office. He emphasised that checks would be carried out by the city police as part of their normal patrol duties.

The city of Locarno announced on Friday that the local authorities would be addressing the issue next week. They may consider introducing the same measure as that adopted in Chiasso.

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Translated from Italian, reviewed by an English Department journalist.