I was in Vegas last week at the Animal Care Expo and attended a daylong seminar Dr. Merck did on Animal CSI. It seems that her plan is to teach as many vets as possible to be able to perform basic forensics. Trained vets can then either instigate investigations with local law enforcement based on contact with patients/clients they suspect of being a victim or perpetrator of cruelty, or they can be called upon to assist local agencies on either a volunteer or contract basis when necessary. In other words, animal forensics would simply become a tool that general practitioners can use when needed, as opposed to a specialty field. In cases where a large and well-trained forensic team is needed, however, Dr. Merck and the team from ASPCA will go anywhere.
Right now the biggest focus is on gathering evidence to prosecute in dog-fighting and animal hoarding cases, but Dr. Merck has even been consulted on smaller cases such as one involving one neighbor who was suspected of shooting and killing another neighbor's dog. She was able to examine the dog and the evidence and build a felony cruelty case against the suspect that led to a conviction. She said that law enforcement agencies are starting to become very aware of the link between animal cruelty and other violent crimes and so they are using these cases to catch violent criminals before they escalate.
It was an excellent seminar. Dr. Merck is going to be working at UF beginning in the fall so between her and Dr. Levy, two of my veterinary heroes will be at UF. I wish I'd been accepted there.
