Gold For Dog Poo: Taiwan Uses Lottery To Deal With 'Street Mess'

Gold For Dog Poo: Taiwan Uses Lottery To Deal With 'Street Mess'

How do you solve a problem like dog owners letting their pets defecate in the street? Well, you could fine them like we do in the UK, or you could... start a lottery.

Taiwan's New Taipei City has come up with a novel way of solving the all-too-common problem of "street mess" by encouraging dog owners to pick up their pet's droppings and hand them into the appropriate authorities in exchange for a lottery ticket.

If you're in possession of a lottery ticket, you're in with a chance of winning the top prize: a gold ingot worth $2,200 (£1,400).

That's right - if you pick up dog mess, you could win a big hunk of gold. That means you don't even have to own a dog... if you see dog-laid "land mine" on the pavement, just pick it up and your ticket is just as valid.

The first winner of the grand prize was an as-yet unnamed woman in her 50s, a member of a group of volunteer street cleaners who help the city stay clean. 84 others won other, smaller prizes, like kitchen equipment, but only one lady won the gold.

The problem is, of course, that now the lottery programme is over - it's been extended since its original announcement in August - the local government just doesn't have enough cash to spend on giving people gold for dog excrement, so officials are hoping that inconsiderate dog owners will just... carry on the habit - without the promise of gold.