An unidentified man in Sicily, Italy, trained his dog to dump bags of trash by the roadside in an attempt to evade surveillance cameras. Illegal dumping is a persistent problem in Italy, carrying significant environmental and economic costs. In response, city officials had surveillance cameras installed and began monitoring to curb the problem. Under Italian law, illegal dumping of trash carries fines ranging from €1,500 ($1,764) to €18,000 ($21,172), with the possibility of criminal charges. One of the surveillance cameras in the city of Catania captured a small dog trotting along Via Pulacara with a bag of trash in its mouth, before dropping it neatly at the roadside. Authorities said the scene left little room for doubt that the animal had been trained to spare its owner from being filmed in the act of illegally dumping trash. The man was finally identified and fined. The dog, of course, faced no charges.
