Forensic Issues in Human-Animal Interaction

<p>  </p> <p>When does interacting with animals become illegal? Can animals be used in criminal investigations? This chapter provides an overview of different human-animal interactions broadly related to forensic contexts, including wildlife crime, animal abuse and the use of animals in forensic science. The first section introduces what a wildlife crime is, the legislations as well as provides some insights into the types of offenders and their behaviours. Then, the chapter investigates animal abuse and introduces the graduation hypothesis, which links animal and domestic abuse, as well as provides a short overview of current knowledge around bestiality. The final section of the chapter explores how animals are used in forensic sciences, giving examples on detection dogs, forensic entomology, animal DNA and animal experimentations.  </p>