Animal Cruelty CSI

by Stephanie Feldstein · 2009-12-16 01:00:00 -0800
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DNA has become an important tool in separating the guilty from the innocent, and it's not limited to human-on-human crime. Last week, DNA evidence led to the arrest of a Brooklyn man charged with torturing his mother-in-law's cat, Medea. The ASPCA sent an umbrella believed to be used on the cat to a crime lab, which turned up DNA from both the cat and the abuser.

Genetic material has already been used in the fight against illegal poaching for years. When animal parts are confiscated, investigators can use DNA to determine what type of animal the bones or fins came from. Scientists have also used DNA to track elephants in Africa. By collecting samples from elephants in the wild, they can match it to confiscated ivory, compare it to the "genetic map" they've created, and zero in on where poachers are active. Similar techniques are being used to protect sharks.

The ASPCA says this is only the second time they've used DNA in a cruelty case, but it's part of a growing field. Veterinary schools have started offering forensics classes, and some labs, like the UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory and the National Fish and Wildlife Forensic Laboratory in Oregon (which was featured in Animal Planet's Animal Witness show), specialize in animal forensics. They receive cases from around the country, and are as sophisticated in their techniques as other crime labs, retrieving evidence from samples taken off roads, swabbed from shoes and clothing, or scraped from wood and other objects.

In addition to animal abuse cases, they can help solve other crimes, too. For instance, hair and saliva picked up from a specific animal can place a suspect at the scene of a crime. Animals are often silent witnesses, and animal forensics opens the door for them to help convict criminals. In dog bite cases, DNA evidence can even determine whether the accused dog was actually the attacker, providing a sort of "innocent until proven guilty" protection in cases where there are no human witnesses.

The high-tech forensics won't bring Medea, or any of the poached wildlife, back to life. But it can give them their day in court, bring them  justice, and, hopefully, make potential animal abusers think twice.

 Photo credit: alancleaver_2000

Stephanie Feldstein is a Change.org Editor who has been part of the animal welfare and rescue community for over a decade, and most recently worked for an environmental organization.
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