Chapter 12: Wildlife Forensic

  • Wildlife forensics → the application of science to the regulation of wildlife protection and conservation laws.

  • Wildlife cases have risen by 150% over the past several years

  • The illegal wildlife trade is worth upwards of $15–$50 billion annually,

  • Due to the lack of wildlife-dedicated labs, evidence was often sent to universities and museums for process.

  • Minor offenders are those that violate permits, and are more opportunistic. These offenders tend to be tracked through inadequate record keeping or other paper trails.

  • Organized illegal trading involves people who are using poaching for financial gain, and will develop and maintain markets for these activities.

    • Sinister contingents involved in clandestine poaching for financial gain

  • Serious major criminal activity is different from organized illegal traders due to its scope. This group involves major professional criminals that are financially supported and dealing with specific markets. These crimes yield significant financial gains for the criminals with low likelihood of punishment.

    • Involves major professional crime groups and involved in specific markets

U.S. Wildlife Laws

  • The Lacy Act (1900)

    • it is unlawful to export, import, acquire, sell, or purchase fish, birds or other wildlife that are taken, possessed, transported or sold in violation of U.S. state, federal or Indian law, or in violation of foreign law.

    • covers all fish and wildlife, as well as their parts and products

    • prohibit foreign commerce in illegally obtained wildlife (1935)

    • protect amphibians, reptiles, mollusks, and crustaceans as well as game and wild birds (1969)

    • protect a broader range of plants and animals, and to specifically prohibit the transport of certain animals that cause problems in new environments, that is invasive species (2008 and 2012)

  • The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (1918)

    • In 1972 the act was amended again to include federal protection for all birds of prey in the United States

  • The Endangered Species Act (1973)

  • Marine Mammal Protection Act (1972)

  • Candidate: this is a species that is under consideration to be listed as threatened or endangered. The species needs to have enough information about its status to become a candidate.

    • PE: candidate species that are proposed to be placed on the endangered list

    • PT: candidate species that are proposed to be placed on the threatened list

  • SAE or E(S/A): this is a species that looks and acts so much like an endangered species, it’s very hard to tell the two species apart. This non-endangered species is placed on the list, therefore, in an effort to protect the endangered species and keep people from accidentally killing that endangered species.

  • SAT or T(S/A): this is the same as an SAE, except with a threatened species instead of endangered.

  • EXPE or XE: This is an experimental population that is essential for the study and continuation of the species.

  • Emergency Endangered: this is a temporary status, lasting for 240 days, which protects a species that is at a significant, immediate risk. This status allows lawmakers to temporarily circumvent the normal process and immediately protect a species while it is under review.

  • Delisted: this is a species that has been removed from the list because its population has grown enough that it is out of danger, or it has become extinct.

  • Species of Concern (SC): this is a species that isn’t yet a candidate, threatened, or endangered, but observations indicate it might become so. This denotes those species that scientists are watching.

  • 1390 endangered/threatened species

  • 950 endangered/threatened plant species

  • The maximum punishment for breaking the endangered species act is a fine up to $50,000 and up to one year in jail

  • The primary focus of wildlife protection laws is the illegal taking and movement of organisms from one place to another, but agencies are expanding these laws to include crimes such as abuse.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Forensics Laboratory

  • Federal funds were allocated in 1989 to build a dedicated laboratory for forensic wildlife investigations, which ultimately became the National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory in Ashland, Oregon — the first and only full‑service wildlife crime lab in the world.

  • Identify species or subspecies of pieces, parts, and products of an animal

  • Determine cause of death of animal

  • Assist wildlife officers at the federal, state, and international levels in determining if a violation of wildlife laws has occurred

  • ID and compare physical evidence to try and link suspect, victim, and crime scene

  • The pathology section deals with the whole victim (i.e., animal). When the victim is intact, a necropsy performed to ascertain cause and process of death.

  • The morphology unit examines furs, feathers, claws etc. both visually and microscopically.

  • The chemistry unit assesses chemical components of animal blood and tissue from different products, looking for drugs and poisons.

  • The genetics unit analyzes DNA to ID both species and individuals.

  • The criminalistics unit analyzes trace and other evidence from crime scene: fingerprints, toolmarks, bullets, etc; basically anything that is not an animal or animal parts but that might assist in solving the crime

  • The digital evidence unit analyzes computer, audio, and video evidence.

  • The administration controls evidence handling, maintains an unbroken chain of custody, and takes care of the funding.

     

Wildlife‑forensics work recognizes four major categories of crimes against wildlife, all of which correspond to how evidence is collected, analyzed, and prosecuted:

  • Illegal taking or poaching

  • Possessing wildlife

  • Trading, shipping, or moving wildlife

  • Inflicting cruelty or persecution