The procedure for forensic veterinary determination of the severity of harm caused to the health of the animal

The paper formulates the procedure for forensic veterinary determination of the severity of damage to animal health. According to the severity of injuries to animals, it is necessary to distinguish between injuries of three degrees: mild, moderate and severe. Forensic veterinary examination to determine the severity of injuries is carried out by a forensic veterinary expert through a veterinary examination of the injured (subject) animal. During the examination of the subject animal, the forensic veterinary expert establishes data about the animal according to the animal’s passport or other document that replaces it (animal’s nickname, individual number, species, sex, age, breed, etc.). If there are no documents for the animal, they are limited to information about the animal received from its owner or guardian; establishes the anamnestic data of the examined animal according to the explanations of the owner of the animal or its guardian; finds out the circumstances of the injury to the investigator, coroner, owner or guardian of the animal; clarifies complaints from the owner about the state of health of the animal; gets acquainted with the case materials provided by the law enforcement agency; examines other available veterinary documents, if necessary, finds out other information. The forensic veterinary expert, estimating the statute of limitations for violation of the anatomical integrity of tissues and organs and their functions, proceeds from their usual duration. Defects in veterinary care should not be taken into account when assessing the severity of injuries. In such cases, the forensic veterinary expert is obliged to indicate the nature of the causal relationship between the injury and such consequences. Damage to diseased tissues and organs of an animal can be considered as severe as damage to these organs and tissues in clinically healthy animals, if there is a direct causal link between the damage and the adverse effect. If during the examination of the subject animal the expert finds different origins of bodily injuries, he establishes what weapon of injury could have been inflicted on each of them. If the injuries are of different ages, indicate the frequency, non-simultaneity and sequence of their application, indicate the time of infliction of each of the injuries, determine the severity of each of them. In cases of death of an animal in the presence of bodily injuries, the forensic veterinary expert, along with resolving other issues, establishes the presence or absence of a causal link between the injury and the death of the animal. In cases where there is a causal link between injury and death, they can be considered fatal. All the information obtained is reflected in the expert’s report or in the report of the expert study. The results in the expert’s opinion should be the result of the analysis of objective information established during the forensic veterinary examination of the subject. They must be detailed and scientifically sound.

Abstract licence: CC BY

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