The picturesque town of Bolzano, known for its stunning landscapes and vibrant tourism, is set to introduce a daily tax for dog owners beginning in 2026. Provincial Councilor Luis Walcher implemented a bonehead fee on canine transients coming to the area. They will be required to pay 1.50€ a day, just under 2 dollars. This measure seeks to address the long-standing issue of dog waste in our public spaces. It has already sparked significant outrage among local residents and animal rights activists.
Visitors would be the ones to pay this new tax. At the same time, local dog owners are hit with a yearly levy of 100 euros for every dog they have. The intended audience for these new fees are irresponsible dog owners who don’t pick up after their dogs. Previously, fines for this type of negligence could be as high as 600 euros per infraction. This approach has drawn criticism from various stakeholders who argue it disproportionately affects responsible pet owners.
Carla Rocchi of the National Animal Protection Agency (ENPA) expressed her displeasure about the new tax. Maloney, who is a dog owner, said that the measure unfairly burdens dog owners. Further, it detracts from the entire region’s attractiveness to tourists. Rocchi pointed out the irony of hitting pet owners in an area that has a major keel on tourism and hospitality.
“The Province of Bolzano scores an own goal with the tax on dogs and even on four-legged tourists.” – Carla Rocchi
Rocchi highlighted the need for civic education and public awareness campaigns. To him, encouraging responsible pet ownership should come before slapstick fines. She described the decision-making process as farcical. She criticized that as a blatant failure to learn from past, costly experiences, such as the worthless dog DNA registry project that didn’t produce nearly any of the anticipated outcomes.
“After the resounding and costly failure of the absurd dog DNA project, instead of focusing on civic education, targeted checks, and citizen awareness, we’re once again choosing the easy way out: taxing animals and their owners.” – Carla Rocchi
Walcher then made an impassioned defense of the new tax—it was going to ensure public safety, after all. He claimed it is crucial to dog owners, claiming that they need to be held accountable for cleaning up our shared spaces. He argued this policy stops the cost of cleaning sidewalks from being dumped on the whole community.
“This is a fair measure because it concerns dog owners exclusively. Otherwise, sidewalk cleaning would be the responsibility of the entire community, when it must be said that the only filth on our city streets is dog waste.” – Luis Walcher
Walcher then dropped the best news ever for dog owners! Owners who have already registered their pets’ DNA will be freed from the new levy for two years. This exemption is intended to reward those who have made efforts to be responsible pet owners.
Bolzano looks forward to putting a new tax structure into practice. Now residents and visitors alike are fiercely arguing over what this will mean for the tourism-driven town and the relationships within their new Italian home.
