Italian city orders dog owners to wash away urine or face €500 fine

Dog owners in an Italian port city will be required to clean up their pets’ urine from public spaces or face fines of up to €500.

Luca Salvetti, the mayor of Livorno, on the Tuscan coast, introduced the measure after complaints from residents about the smell of dog urine, particularly in parks and children’s play areas.

Dog owners will now be required to carry water bottles and sprayers to cleanse pavements, benches and even the wheels of parked cars and scooters.

Their pets are also forbidden from urinating near doorways and windows, and especially by the entrances of shops, offices and homes.

“Public spaces are community property that must be protected to ensure decorum, hygiene and urban livability,” Salvetti’s council said in a statement outlining the measure.

The council said it was responding to “numerous reports from residents highlighting the discomfort caused by foul odours and the health and hygiene issues resulting from the presence of liquid animal waste in spaces intended for socialisation by adults and children”. The council added that the measure was especially needed in light of the big rise in the number of pets, especially dogs.

The measure will be in force between 20 May and 31 October. Photograph: Ali Eobanoglu/Alamy

The measure will apply to anyone walking a dog, be it the owner or someone taking care of the animal, and will be in force between 20 May and 31 October, the period deemed the most critical owing to the higher temperatures and lower rainfall which helps to clean pavements.

Those proven to have broken the rules face fines of between €25 and €500 (£21 to £425).

Similar rules are already in place in Livorno for dog waste, with dog walkers obliged to carry equipment to scoop up the excrement. Dog walkers can be subjected to spot checks by public officials to ensure they are appropriately equipped for the task.

In September last year leaders in Bolzano sparked controversy among animal rights’ groups after proposing a dog tax of €1.50 a night for canines visiting the northern Italian province and €100 per year per dog for resident dog owners, with the proceeds used to rid the streets of dog mess.