Wildlife Forensics

Wildlife forensics is a relatively new field of criminal investigation. Its goals are to use scientific procedures to examine, identify, and compare evidence from crime scenes, and to link this evidence with a suspect and a victim, which is specifically an animal. Killing wild animals that are protected from hunting by laws, also called poaching, is one of the most serious crimes investigated by wildlife forensic scientists. Other crimes against wildlife include buying and selling protected animals and buying and selling products made from protected animals. The types of evidence analysed by a wildlife forensics lab include any part of an animal including blood and tissue samples, carcasses, hair, teeth, bones, claws, talons, tusks, hides, fur, feathers, or stomach contents etc. Wildlife forensic scientists may also investigate materials used to kill or harm animals, such as poisons, pesticides, projectiles, and weapons. Products that are made from animals are also of interest, including leather goods and medicines, especially those from Asia.