KUALA LUMPUR, July 15 ― Japanese police have blamed dog urine as the cause of a traffic light pole toppling.

The six-metre pole at the corner of a suburban intersection in the town of Suzuka in the Mie Prefecture, had fallen, triggering an investigation as the pole was built to last 50 years.

According to SoraNews24, the pole in question was planted at the junction in 1997.

In the course of investigations, police noticed that dog owners would stop near the pole while walking their pets.

Mie Prefectural Police Scientific Investigation Research Lab decided to perform tests to check for the presence of urea, the nitrogenous compound that’s essentially the non-water part of urine.

Results found there were nearly eight times as many urea traces on the pole that had fallen than one across the street that sees fewer visits from dogs.

Even more startling were the results from testing the ground around the base of the poles, in which the dog-preferred spot had 42 times the amount of urea than other poles in the area.

Researchers believe the urine had accelerated the rate of corrosion in the metal, particularly around its base, causing it to become weak and snapped.

Lab head Koji Takahashi said although the amount of urine is small, repeated application over the course of many months and years can damage the public infrastructure.