Читать книгу Animal Cruelty Investigations - Группа авторов - Страница 124

Linda Fielder

It should come as no surprise that the basic needs of animals described in the previous chapter play a critical role in every animal cruelty investigation.

Without food and water in sufficient amounts, a horse cannot sustain its body weight and will become emaciated over time. A cat's wound or illness left untreated will cause pain and may result in death. Without a shelter that allows for maintenance of body temperature, a dog may freeze to death outdoors. Once we understand the basic needs of animals, we can begin to understand how the absence of those necessities becomes the indication of neglect or abuse to vigilant observers and initiates an investigation.

In the example of the dog with no shelter, the investigative team of police officers, veterinarian, and animal control officers will piece together the evidence of neglect, which led to the dog perishing in the cold. How was the shelter inadequate? How long had the dog been outdoors? How low was the temperature the night the dog died? Did the dog's body condition, breed, or hair coat provide protection or make it more vulnerable? A successful investigation begins with a keen understanding of the animal's needs and fills in the blanks regarding how those needs were or were not being met in the days, weeks, or months prior to the case coming to rest on the desk of the investigator or veterinarian (Figure 3.1).

A thorough investigation is an attempt to leave no stone unturned when searching for the evidence of a crime. It includes physical examination, interviews, scene searches, photographs, diagnostic imaging, pathology, and much more. The investigation sets out to assure the prosecutor there is no other excuse for or reason that the animal became ill/injured/deceased but by the commission of the crime of animal neglect or abuse and provides a narrative that leads to the identification of the individual(s) responsible for said crime.