Animal DNA and Forensic Science
Forensic science is an increasingly important aspect to investigating crimes, and DNA testing is a means for investigators to conclusively establish evidence. This paper looks at how DNA can help in criminal and civil investigations related to animals. In particular, this study looked at two examples where non-human animal DNA could help close a case: in the first crime, investigators were looking into a grisly killing a group of sheep because of a suspected dog attack. The other case involved a label claiming “51% bear meat” on salamis and sausages confiscated by police from a Hungarian butcher shop. The products were said to be imported from Romania, but in Hungary brown bears are protected by CITES.
In this highly technical research, the scientists used DNA markers and species-specific data to verify the identification of dogs in the first case, and the presence of bear meat in case two. They used unique methods to analyze the DNA because more generalized methods would often result “in unreadable or ambiguous sequences.” In case one, they found that identifying dogs based on degraded hair samples was still quite difficult, while in case two their methods resulted in “clear sequences, and provided perfect searching in GenBank database.” For animal advocates, the results of case two should be of particular interest. As the practice of “DNA barcoding” becomes more of a reality, advocates can work to make sure that such technology is available and usable to benefit animals.