Animal Cruelty Prosecution Animal Cruelty Prosecution

T HE P R OGRESSION OF A C R UELTY TO A NIMALS C ASE
key to telling the story of an animal that has been injured or killed
through abuse or neglect. Such testimony can address key issues raised in
most cruelty cases, as outlined in Figure 9. Veterinarians are among the
most respected members of the community and their testimony as both
direct and expert witnesses can be particularly compelling.Veterinary
professionals can also provide a well-supported, objective community
standard for what is considered reasonable and prudent care.
Figure 9
Major Roles of Veterinary Professionals in the
Prosecution of Animal Cruelty Cases
• Documenting the physical condition of all animals associated with
a cruelty case and documenting changes in their condition in
response to care and treatment
• Commenting on reasonably prudent actions and standards of care
that could have been taken to prevent disease, injury or death
• In the case of dead animals, determining the cause of death,
sequence of injuries and timing of pre-mortem or post-mortem
wounds
• Offering expert opinion to distinguish between death and injury
resulting from human vs. non-human causes (e.g. predation) or
intentional vs. accidental injury
• Identifying and preserving physical evidence that may link the
injuries to a particular suspect (e.g. projectiles, ligatures, trace evidence).
• Offering opinions regarding the speed of unconsciousness or
death, and degree of suffering to evaluate whether the death or
killing was humane
It is important to document not only the medical condition of animals at
the time of the initial investigation, but also the recovery or deterioration
of animals over time.The relatively rapid transition of a dog from a “bag
of bones” to fully fleshed out animal with a healthy coat is strong testimony
to the fact that all it took was basic care to have a healthy animal.
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