Man Trains Dog To Illegally Dump Rubbish To Dodge Cameras In Italy, Fined By Police

Last Updated:February 20, 2026, 17:51 IST

A man in Catania, Italy, was fined for training his dog to dump rubbish bags to evade surveillance cameras. Police shared footage, highlighting ongoing illegal dumping issues.

A man in Catania, Sicily, has been fined after allegedly training his dog to dump rubbish bags along the roadside in an attempt to avoid surveillance cameras installed to curb illegal waste disposal.

The incident came to light after Catania’s municipal police shared footage on the city’s official Facebook page. The video shows a small dog trotting along Via Pulacara in the San Giorgio district with a bag of rubbish in its mouth before neatly dropping it by the roadside.

In a statement, the environmental unit of the municipal police said two videos captured by surveillance cameras clearly showed the animal depositing waste in the street. Authorities said the act appeared deliberate, suggesting the dog had been trained to prevent its owner from being filmed while illegally discarding rubbish.

“Inventiveness can never become an alibi for incivility," police said, describing the tactic as both cunning and unacceptable. They stressed that respect for urban decorum and environmental protection is a civic duty.

The man behind the act has reportedly been identified and fined.

Illegal dumping, or fly-tipping, remains a significant problem in parts of Italy, particularly in the south, where it carries environmental and economic consequences. In 2023, more than 9,300 waste-related offences were recorded nationwide, a sharp rise compared to the previous year.

To tackle the issue, municipalities have increasingly turned to surveillance measures, including fixed cameras, wildlife-style “camera traps" and smart monitoring systems. In Palermo, for instance, hundreds of cameras have been deployed across districts, with officials saying the vast majority of fines for illegal dumping are backed by video evidence.

Under Italian law, unauthorised abandonment of waste, even household rubbish bags can attract fines ranging from €1,500 to €18,000 and may also lead to criminal charges.

News world Man Trains Dog To Illegally Dump Rubbish To Dodge Cameras In Italy, Fined By Police

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