Wildlife forensic science

Wildlife forensic sciences also deal with conservation and identification of rare species and is a useful tool for non-invasive studies.

This act aimed to prevent extinction and encourage recovery of organisms, and also included protection for various ecosystems that wildlife resides in.

This act developed from wildlife being threatened in the United States, and also encouraged the creation of various treaties with countries across the globe in order to protect species.

This included migratory bird treaties with Canada, Mexico, and Japan and the creation of a convention for Natural Protection and Wildlife Preservation.

Importing, exporting, transportation, and the sale and purchase of species are now all sections that are included in the modern Lacy Act.

[citation needed] After the 2020 production of Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madnese, people are more aware of roadside zoos.

[13] These situations often lead to animals being killed, which lends itself to wildlife forensic sciences, to explore the aftermath of these events.

However, in order to help combat habitat destruction genetic sequencing and classification of morphological structure play key roles in protecting an area.

Naming species is a key issue in being able to conserve an area, and wildlife forensics can assist in this via genetic analysis.

[citation needed] Mitochondrial microsatellite analysis methods are often performed to individualize[18] the remains of an animal and determine if a species is endangered,[19] or if it was hunted out of season.

[21] Mitochondrial DNA is used due to its high copy number, and the presence of differences in mutation rates among closely related species.

[18] DNA barcoding is often used in Wildlife Forensic Science cases to identify an unknown species found at a crime scene.

[27] The science of wound ballistics is beginning to gain attention for wildlife forensics as a method to determine what type of firearm may have killed an animal.

[28] Fingerprinting is a current technique that is actually particularly common in human crime, and overtime has begun to migrate to the wildlife forensics world.

[29] In wildlife forensic science, fingerprinting has been used to lift latent marks off of pangolin scales, and additionally studies have recovered fingermarks on raptor feathers using magnetic and fluorescent powders.

[29] New successes and studies are also being found pulling fingerprints off of eggshells, ivory, teeth, bone, leathers, and antlers.

Forensic Entomology is commonly accepted in legal cases and is particularly helpful in determining time of death for both human and wildlife crimes.

[30] Officers collected blow fly eggs from the deceased cubs, and data was used to determine time of death.

[30] Forensic pathology developed out of the veterinary profession, and begin as a way to study disease in domestic animals, and eventually migrated to wildlife.

Forensic Pathology also includes full biopsies which can help analyze tissue and organ changes that may have led to the death of an animal.

[citation needed] Various laboratories and organizations have formed in order to develop and perform wildlife forensic sciences.