A man in Catania, Sicily, trained his dog to dump bags of rubbish by the roadside in an attempt to evade cameras installed by local authorities to combat fly-tipping, municipal police have said. The episode was detailed in a Facebook post on the city of Catania’s official page. Accompanying a video of the dog was a remark from the police that 'inventiveness can never become an alibi for incivility'. The man has reportedly been identified and fined. Illegal dumping is a major problem in Italy, particularly in the south, with significant environmental and economic costs. In 2023, more than 9,300 waste-related offences were recorded – a 66% increase on the previous year. In response, growing numbers of Italian municipalities are installing surveillance cameras, wildlife-style 'camera traps' and smart monitoring systems to curb fly-tipping and misuse of recycling points Man in Sicily trained his dog to illegally dump rubbish, say police ► https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/20/man-sicily-trained-dog-illegally-dump-rubbish-catania Subscribe to Guardian News on YouTube ► https://www.youtube.com/user/guardianwires?sub_confirmation=1 The Guardian publishes independent journalism, made possible by supporters. Contribute to The Guardian today ► https://support.theguardian.com Sign up to the Guardian's free new daily newsletter, First Edition ► http://theguardian.com/first-edition Website ► https://www.theguardian.com Facebook ►https://www.facebook.com/theguardian Instagram ► https://instagram.com/guardian Bluesky ► https://bsky.app/profile/theguardian.com The Guardian on YouTube: The Guardian ► https://www.youtube.com/@theguardian Guardian Australia ► https://www.youtube.com/@guardianaustralia Football Weekly podcast ► https://www.youtube.com/@footballweeklypodcast Guardian Football ► https://www.youtube.com/@guardianfootball Guardian Sport ► https://www.youtube.com/@guardiansport It's Complicated ► https://www.youtube.com/@itscomplicated Guardian Live ► https://www.youtube.com/@guardianlive #c#Sicily #Illegaldumping #bagsofrubbish #traineddog
Fly-tipping dog caught on CCTV in Sicily
14 std vor
A man in Catania, Sicily, trained his dog to dump bags of rubbish by the roadside in an attempt to evade cameras installed by local authorities to combat fly-tipping, municipal police have said. The episode was detailed in a Facebook post on the city of Catania’s official page. Accompanying a video of the dog was a remark from the police that 'inventiveness can never become an alibi for incivility'. The man has reportedly been identified and fined. Illegal dumping is a major problem in Italy, particularly in the south, with significant environmental and economic costs. In 2023, more than 9,300 waste-related offences were recorded – a 66% increase on the previous year. In response, growing numbers of Italian municipalities are installing surveillance cameras, wildlife-style 'camera traps' and smart monitoring systems to curb fly-tipping and misuse of recycling points Man in Sicily trained his dog to illegally dump rubbish, say police ► https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/20/man-sicily-trained-dog-illegally-dump-rubbish-catania Subscribe to Guardian News on YouTube ► https://www.youtube.com/user/guardianwires?sub_confirmation=1 The Guardian publishes independent journalism, made possible by supporters. Contribute to The Guardian today ► https://support.theguardian.com Sign up to the Guardian's free new daily newsletter, First Edition ► http://theguardian.com/first-edition Website ► https://www.theguardian.com Facebook ►https://www.facebook.com/theguardian Instagram ► https://instagram.com/guardian Bluesky ► https://bsky.app/profile/theguardian.com The Guardian on YouTube: The Guardian ► https://www.youtube.com/@theguardian Guardian Australia ► https://www.youtube.com/@guardianaustralia Football Weekly podcast ► https://www.youtube.com/@footballweeklypodcast Guardian Football ► https://www.youtube.com/@guardianfootball Guardian Sport ► https://www.youtube.com/@guardiansport It's Complicated ► https://www.youtube.com/@itscomplicated Guardian Live ► https://www.youtube.com/@guardianlive #c#Sicily #Illegaldumping #bagsofrubbish #traineddog
