care as required by law. Once you have established that fact, then applying the Five Freedoms can guide you as you evaluate the animal's environment and look for adequate food, water, shelter, and sanitation. Does the animal's enclosure provide for its needs for exercise and freedom from urine and feces? Are there hazards in the environment that have resulted in injury to the animal? Is it able to maintain an appropriate body temperature? Who are the local animal experts that can assist you in further evaluation of the circumstances if necessary? The more you learn about the basic needs of animal, the more confident you will become as you respond to animal cruelty cases, and the more thorough your part in an investigation will become.
References
1 1 Animal Legal Defense Fund (2020). 2020 U.S. state animal protection laws rankings. https://aldf.org/project/us‐state‐rankings (accessed 30 May 2021).
2 2 Elischer, M. (2019). The Five Freedoms: a history lesson in animal care and welfare. MSU Extension 4‐H Animal Science, Michigan State University https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/an_animal_welfare_history_lesson_on_the_five_freedoms (accessed 30 May 2021).
3 3 ASPCA (n.d.). Five Freedoms. https://www.aspca.org/sites/default/files/upload/images/aspca_asv_five_freedoms_final1.ashx_.pdf (accessed 30 May 2021).
4 4 Animal Welfare Act, 1966 (USA).
5 5 Polak, K.C., Levy, J.K., Crawford, P.C. et al. (2014). Infectious diseases in large‐scale cat hoarding investigations. Vet. J. 201 (2): 189–195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2014.05.020.
3 Fundamentals of All Cases
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.
3.1 Interdisciplinary Roles
Every investigation is more comprehensive and able to withstand examination by the defense when it employs the skills and expertise of all the practitioners for whom this book is written. The law enforcement professional utilizes their skills of interviewing suspects and witnesses, identifying evidence, and noticing and documenting conditions relevant to the investigation. Veterinarians are valuable when assessing the crime scene. They also provide clinical expertise in diagnosing and treating victim animals and are qualified to explain how the animal experienced pain, what intervention or actions may have changed its condition, and how the investigator's findings were relevant. Animal welfare and shelter professionals may offer resources to owners that prevent an animal from suffering and eliminate the need for a criminal citation. They can also provide excellent environments for victim animals to heal and rehabilitate and keep accurate records around all aspects of those animals' care and movement. The prosecutor applies the laws of the state to the facts of the crime report and the supporting evidence and documentation that comprises the case file and makes the best possible use of witnesses when the case proceeds to the courtroom. When all the professionals involved are using their skills and training together, they support each other in the process of moving a case along from the scene of the crime to the trial.
Figure 3.1 The shelter pictured here does little to provide protection from the elements.
Source: Oregon Humane Society.
3.2 Environment
Many investigations begin with the report of an animal living in an inadequate environment. Animals confined to a pen, a crate, a stall, or tethered by a chain may suffer illness and injury as a result of their inability to get away from their feces, or standing water, or other unsafe or unsanitary conditions present in their environment.
An environment marked by excess feces and urine, standing water, or thick mud can cause painful issues, including ulcerated sores on the feet and hocks, infection, which may progress through the skin and into the bone, hoof and skeletal abnormalities, a high incidence of miscarriage and death of neonates, injuries caused by an animal's repeated attempts to escape the environment, gastrointestinal disease, and parasite burden. These are only some of the conditions animals may develop as a result of living in a squalid environment and which contribute to a conclusion that the animals are suffering from criminal animal neglect.
So many aspects of an animal's environment are relevant to a criminal investigation. The environment includes the high and low temperatures an animal is exposed to, access to shelter or shade from the elements, the provision of reasonably clean and dry bedding, and the physical space to shift positions, stand, sit, and lie comfortably, with flooring that does not injure or entrap an animal's feet or limbs.
In the case of a physical abuse or animal fighting investigation an animal's environment will also contain evidence vital to the investigation. Implements used to strike a victim animal, blood spatter, or indicators of a physical altercation or struggle may all be visible in the environment and subject to the keen eye of the investigator. Equipment used to condition animals for fighting or supplies to treat wounds are often discovered hidden or in plain view within the environment of a dog‐ or cockfighter.
The opportunity for evaluating an animal's environment is often time sensitive. You may not be granted access to view the area where an animal is kept or may only see it for a brief time during an initial site visit. Knowing how the environment impacts the health and well‐being of an animal is crucial to ensuring
