The Role of Veterinarians in Forensic Science: A Review

Abstract

Forensic science plays an important role in solving lawsuits involving human beings, such as assault, homicide, or poisoning cases. It combines scientific principles and techniques with legal procedures. Regarding past and present animal cruelty issues, many countries have passed stringent legislation to penalize individuals who abuse animals. Such animal cruelty protection acts are practiced in many countries, including Thailand, the United States, and Australia. Therefore, forensic science has been applied in the veterinary field, classified as a branch called veterinary forensic science. This field of study examines abnormalities in unnatural death in animals, collecting evidence from animals according to the chain of custody (crucial for documenting evidence) and the laws related to crimes against animals. This article gathers information by searching international databases (Scopus and Pubmed). The results of the search revealed the role of veterinarians in forensic science, the types of animal abuse that have led to legal actions (such as physical abuse and poisoning), and the laws seeking to prevent animal cruelty, each with its unique set of penalties, as implemented by different countries. The results revealed that veterinarians play a crucial role in animal forensic science by examining abused animals and ensuring the precise collection of samples, which serves as essential support for legal cases. It is important to involve specialized experts in these examinations, as their involvement substantially enhances the reliability of the results. Countries with laws to prevent animal cruelty, such as Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey, and Australia, punish animal abusers with varying fines and imprisonment. However, some countries still do not have practical laws to prevent animal cruelty directly, such as China and Iran. In this context, veterinarians should know the animal cruelty prevention laws in their area and educate animal owners to be aware of appropriate animal welfare management and reduce the incidence of animal cruelty.