Italian tourist town imposes a tax on visiting dogs

By Barbie Nadeau, CNN

(CNN) — Well-traveled pets already get their own passports. Now, in an age of overtourism — where visitors are sometimes charged fees to counter their impact on inundated communities — there’s inevitably a tourist tax on dogs.

Starting in 2026, owners of dogs visiting the northern Italian city of Bolzano will be hounded for a daily tax of 1.50 euros, just under $2, part of a wider and controversial clampdown on canines in the pristine destination, a gateway to the Dolomite mountains.

They won’t be the only ones. Local owners are being asked to pay an annual tax of 100 euros per dog.

The initiative is meant to offset the cost of street cleaning and to fund new parks designed exclusively for dogs and their owners. It remains unclear, however, whether rumors that dogs will be barred from regular city parks will prove true.

The tax comes on the heels of another contentious measure: requiring owners to pay to have their dogs’ DNA registered so that uncollected droppings can be matched to the culprit and fines issued. Dog owners who fail to pick up after their pets currently face penalties of up to 600 euros per violation.

Provincial Councilor Luis Walcher, who introduced the measure, said that those who have already complied with the DNA registry will be exempt from the new levy for two years.

Turning animals into taxpayers

“This is a fair measure because it concerns dog owners exclusively,” he said. “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.”

Not everyone is happy. Carla Rocchi of ENPA, a national animal protection body, said the measure hurts the region. “The Province of Bolzano scores an own goal with the tax on dogs and even on four-legged tourists,” she said in a statement.

“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.”

She said the measure not only penalizes families and tourists who choose to travel with their dogs but also sends a profoundly flawed message: turning animals into taxpayers.

“It’s paradoxical that in an area that thrives on tourism and hospitality, we’re targeting precisely those who choose a respectful and inclusive vacation, bringing their four-legged companion along,” she added.

“Animals are not a luxury, but an integral part of families. Targeting them with new taxes doesn’t solve the problems of incivility experienced by a few, but risks only discouraging responsible travel and, even worse, encouraging abandonment.”

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