Under a draft law announced last week, tourists bringing dogs into the South Tyrolean capital would be charged €1.50 (£1.31) per animal per night, according to Ansa.

Residents would also face an annual fee of around €100 (£87.28) per dog.

Officials say the measure is designed to fund street cleaning and other services linked to dog fouling, with revenues directed to new waste bins, upkeep of green spaces, and the creation of designated dog parks.

The proposal comes as local frustration grows over the impact of pets on public areas in South Tyrol, a region popular with hikers and international tourists. It also follows the failure of a controversial DNA registration scheme brought in last year in a bid to identify owners who failed to clean up after their animals.

Although the database was set up, compliance was low, with just 12,000 of 30,000 dog owners signing up despite the threat of €1,048 (£914.54) fines.

Provincial councillor Luis Walcher has defended the new plan, saying: "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."

He added that registered owners would be exempt from the resident tax for two years.

However, animal welfare groups have criticised the proposal.

Carla Rocchi, of the Italian National Animal Protection Agency, said: "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. This measure not only penalises families and tourists who choose to travel with their dogs, but also sends a profoundly flawed message: turning animals into taxpayers’ cash machines."

The city's mayor Claudio Corrarati has also voiced opposition, telling RTL radio: "We would be dogs to impose a tax on dogs."