Clear Up Your Dog's Mess And Win!

The Taiwanese city of New Taipei has started a 'prize-in-exchange-for-pets'-mess' program as an incentive for people to clear up after their pets.


The lottery proved a great success, with more than 4000 people collecting 14,500 bags of waste produced by their pets. The top prize -- a gold nugget worth $2200 -- was won by a woman in her fifties, with another 84 winning a variety of prizes including smaller gold ingots and household appliances. The scheme which began in August had to be extended with addition of more prizes due to its popularity with the people. The city however, cannot afford to keep giving out gold for dog poo, say officials, who hope that citizens will have become more responsible by now.

Bacteria present in dog poo pose a major health risk, and if ingested can lead to severe stomach upsets including toxocariasis.