Béziers, a town of around 75,000 people in southern France, announced the measure after complaints about the amount of dog poo on the town streets.

Owners will be required to obtain a “genetic passport” for their dog against which excrement collected from the streets can be tested by the police, Euronews reports.

Town officials say that owners located through the scheme – which will initially be piloted for two years – will be liable for a €122 (£100) fine.

Béziers mayor Robert Ménard told France Bleu: “I’m fed up with all this dog mess. The state has done nothing, we need to penalise people so that they behave properly.”

A previous attempt to introduce the scheme in 2016 collapsed after a court challenge, but officials are confident that no challenge will be brought to the revised proposal.