Animal Cruelty Investigations

Edited byDr. Kris Otteman, DVM, Diplomate ABVP Shelter Medicine Practice, CAWA, Courtesy Faculty Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine, Oregon State University, USA Linda Fielder, CAWA, Animal Legal Defense Fund, Cotati, CA, USA Emily Lewis, J.D., M.S.E.L., Animal Legal Defense Fund, Cotati, CA, USA

• List of Contributors xiPreface xiiAcknowledgments xiiiAbout the Companion Website xv1 Introduction 1Emily Lewis1.1 Making the Most of This Resource 11.2 Why Definitions Are Important 21.3 Terms and Phrases: Animal Cruelty Cases 21.4 Terms and Phrases: Veterinary Medicine 31.5 Terms and Phrases: Law Enforcement and Field Services 51.6 Terms and Phrases: Criminal Law 71.7 Looking Ahead 12References 122 Animal Basics 14Kris Otteman, Zarah Hedge, and Linda Fielder2.1 The History of the Five Freedoms and Their Impact on Animal Welfare Laws 152.2 Veterinarians as Experts in the Field 152.3 With So Many Species, Where to Begin? 162.4 Defining Animals by Category 162.5 Animal Basics by Species 162.6 Basics That Apply to All Animals 232.7 Putting Your Basic Knowledge to Work 24References 243 Fundamentals of All Cases 25Linda Fielder3.1 Interdisciplinary Roles 253.2 Environment 263.3 Sanitation 273.4 Food and Water 283.5 Nutrition 303.6 Documentation 313.7 Body Condition 323.8 Documenting Body Condition 333.9 Dental, Foot, and Hoof Care 333.10 Veterinary Care, Medications, and Treatment 353.11 Nonaccidental Injury and Trauma 363.12 The Link Between Animal Cruelty and Crimes Against Humans 373.13 Emergency Issues 37References 374 Initial Investigation and Assessment 38Linda Fielder4.1 Types of Reports 384.2 Anonymous Reports 394.3 Required Information 394.4 Response Triage 404.5 Legitimate or Not? How to Decide 404.6 Responding to Calls: Initial Site Visit 405 Witness and Subject Interviewing 45Linda Fielder5.1 Preparation for the Interview 455.2 Interview Location and Setting 465.3 Miranda and Consent 465.4 Building Rapport 475.5 Ask Clear and Direct Open-Ended Questions 485.6 Suspect Interviews 495.7 Reading Body Language and Detecting Deception 505.8 Confessions 505.9 Ending the Interview 515.10 Documenting the Interview 515.11 Additional Resources and Training 51References 516 The Veterinarian’s Role in Animal Cruelty Investigations 53Kris Otteman6.1 The Veterinarian is an Important Partner in Animal Cruelty Investigations 536.2 The Veterinarian’s Oath 556.3 How Veterinary Forensics Differs from Traditional Veterinary Medicine 556.4 Veterinary Confidentiality and Medical Records Requests 566.5 Public Information Considerations 576.6 Conflicts of Interest 586.7 Be Familiar with the Laws 596.8 How to Find and Build Knowledge in the Area of Animal Law 596.9 Understand What the Prosecutor and Law Enforcement Need to Know 606.10 How Animal Cruelty Investigations Surface and Become Active Cases 61References 627 The Veterinary Exam and Treatment Plan 63Kris Otteman and Zarah Hedge7.1 Request and Review Evidentiary Material 647.2 Initial Steps 657.3 Examination Key Elements 717.4 Ongoing Responsibilities of the Veterinarian 83References 868 Setting Expectations and Monitoring Compliance 87Linda Fielder8.1 Education and Guidance vs. Citation 878.2 Passive Neglect and Lack of Resources 888.3 Education 898.4 Setting Expectations 908.5 What You Can and Cannot Require 918.6 Conducting Rechecks 928.7 What If Nothing Improves or Conditions Worsen? 928.8 What About Animal Hoarders? 93References 949 Search Warrants and Seizures 95Emily Lewis9.1 Exceptions to the Warrant Requirement in Animal Cruelty Cases 959.2 Prewarrant Considerations 989.3 Drafting of the Affidavit and Search Warrant 1039.4 Before You Serve the Warrant 1109.5 Preservice Briefing 1149.6 Serving the Warrant 1159.7 Start Documenting the Scene 1179.8 System for Evidence Documentation and Processing 1189.9 Processing the Animals 1219.10 Forms 1239.11 Discovering Evidence of Other Crimes 1279.12 The First 24 Hours After the Search Warrant Execution 127References 12810 Evidence Collection 130Emily Lewis10.1 What is Evidence? 13010.2 How Evidence in Animal Cruelty Cases Differs from Traditional Property Crimes 13010.3 How to Package the Evidence 13610.4 What to Do with Evidence Until Trial 15210.5 Evidence at Trial 15410.6 Evidence After Trial 155References 15711 Veterinary Forensic Necropsy 158Kris Otteman and Zarah Hedge11.1 How a Forensic Necropsy is Different 15811.2 The Importance of the Forensic Necropsy 15811.3 Necropsy at the Owner’s Request 15911.4 Packaging and Storing Remains Prior to Necropsy 15911.5 Forensic Necropsy Equipment and Protocols 16011.6 Case History 16011.7 Preparing to Perform the Necropsy 16011.8 The Necropsy Report 17511.9 Next Steps 17911.10 An Important Reminder 179References 17912 Report Writing 180Emily Lewis12.1 Introduction 18012.2 General Principles 18012.3 Crime Report 18312.4 Veterinarian Reports 18412.5 Witness Statements 18912.6 The Case Packet 19212.7 Conclusion 19513 Protective Custody (Live Animals) 196Linda Fielder13.1 The Challenge of Live Animal Evidence 19613.2 The First 24 Hours 19713.3 Know Your Agency’s Capacity 19813.4 Facility Set-Up and Security 19913.5 Training Staff and Confidentiality 20013.6 Paperwork and Record Keeping 20113.7 Providing Security Without Isolation 20213.8 Foster Care and Offsite Boarding 20313.9 Routine and Emergency Veterinary Care 20413.10 Death in Care and Euthanasia Considerations 20413.11 Offspring Born in Care 20513.12 Conclusion 206References 20614 Media and Fundraising 207Emily Lewis14.1 Media Coverage 20714.2 Handling Negative Press 21414.3 Internal Communications Policy 21514.4 Fundraising 215References 22015 Forfeiture, Surrender, and Related Legal Remedies 221David Rosengard15.1 Seized Animals and Reasonable Minimum Care 22215.2 The Impact of Seizure Expenses – and Responsive Solutions 22315.3 Voluntary Relinquishment 22315.4 The Seized Animal as Contraband 22415.5 Preconviction Forfeiture 22615.6 Preconviction Forfeiture: Bond-or-Forfeit Statutes 22715.7 Bond-or-Forfeit Statute Examples 22815.8 Bond-or-Forfeit statutes Are Constitutionally Compliant 22915.9 Restitution 23015.10 Forfeiture via Sentencing 23115.11 Cost-of-Care Liens 23115.12 Conclusion 231References 23216 Trial 233Jake Kamins16.1 Trials: An Overview 23316.2 The Players 23416.3 How a Typical Criminal Case Gets to Trial 23816.4 Pretrial Matters 24116.5 The Trial 24216.6 Topics for Prosecutors 24616.7 Conclusion 249Introduction to the Appendix 250Appendix A: Specific Case Protocols 251Appendix B: Forms and Checklists 329Appendix C: Templates and Agreements 391Appendix D: Resources 425Index 441