A municipality in the Dutch province of Zeeland has decided to establish a DNA database to punish those who leave their dog's feces on the street.

According to the news in public broadcaster NOS, the proposal submitted by the Socialist Reform Party (SGP), which envisages the creation of a DNA database to identify those who leave their dog's feces on the street, was accepted by the City Council.

Under the proposal, residents of Reimarwaal, which has a population of over 22,000, will have to register their dogs in a DNA database.

Officers will take samples of dog feces left on the streets and test them, and the owner will be contacted through the database and fined for not cleaning up the mess.

Opposition members called the decision "a bad, outdated April Fool's joke that embarrassed the entire municipality."

Noting that the cost of the planned DNA database is very high, opposition members argue that the costs of the system cannot be covered by fines to be imposed on those who do not clean up their dog's feces.