DNA testing puts dog owners on notice

15:19 AEST Sun Jun 24 2007

AAP

It may be too late for Lassie but DNA technology is set to give doggie do-gooders a leg up on canine crime.

Fed up with dog attacks, a Victorian council is using genetic "paw prints" to collar savage dogs.

Fur, saliva, blood and excrement from canine crime scenes are on the most-wanted list as the City of Port Phillip, south of Melbourne's CBD, embarks on a world-first campaign to identify four-legged offenders.

DNA is dynamite in prosecuting wayward pet owners and for dangerous dogs it's life or death technology, according to City of Port Phillip councillor Janet Cribbes.

"We have to make sure that if we have to do something like put an animal down or prosecute that we're sure (it's the offending dog)," Cr Cribbes said.

More than 100,000 dog attacks occur in Australia each year and a quarter are against humans.

Almost 50 per cent of attacking dogs are repeat offenders but many cases go unresolved.

That's where DNA analysis comes in.

The City of Port Phillip became the first council in Australia to successfully prosecute a dog owner by using DNA.

In October 2004, a Melbourne pensioner's Pomeranian was mauled to death by two dogs during a routine walk in Port Melbourne, south of the city's CBD.

DNA taken from fur and faeces was able to positively identify the offending dogs, which were eventually destroyed.

A magistrate fined the owner $2,000 and $6,550 in costs.

The City of Port Phillip is now trialling the Dog Attack DNA Kit, launched Sunday, which it hopes will point the paw at more bad dogs.

The developer, Genetic Technologies, said the kit containing swabs, gloves, evidence bags and a specimen phial would help meet evidentiary standards required in court.

Launching the kit, Victorian Agriculture Minister Joe Helper said it added to the armoury in the fight against irresponsible pet owners.

"Responsible pet ownership is a very big problem, we have had 435 cases of hospitalisation as a consequence of dog attacks per annum in Victoria," Mr Helper said.

"For children between the ages of one and four it's more likely that a child will be hospitalised as a consequence of a dog attack than as a consequence of a motor vehicle accident."

©AAP 2007

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