Researchers find different injury
patterns in abused animals, animals hit by cars
Date: May 25, 2016
Source: Tufts University
A veterinarian sees a canine
patient with severe rib and head injuries whose cause of injury is unknown.
Without having witnessed the incident, how can the veterinary professional
distinguish an accident from abuse?
Using data from criminal cases of
animal abuse, researchers from Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts
University and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
(ASPCA) have demonstrated that motor vehicle accidents and non-accidental blunt
force trauma cases in dogs and cats present with different types of injuries.
The research, which appears online in advance of the September 2016 print
edition of the Journal of Forensic Sciences, can help in the effort to
uncover and address animal abuse.
While the veterinary community,
health professionals and public officials have acknowledged the need to address
animal cruelty and have developed general guidelines for identifying suspicious
behavior, clinicians face many difficulties in identifying specific injuries
caused by abuse.
In cases of injury caused by
animal abuse, commonly referred to as non-accidental, the cause reported by the
abuser typically differs from the actual cause. Motor vehicle accidents are
often falsely cited when an animal presents with skeletal injuries.
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