Live-Animal Seizure
Definition
A scene at which live protected animals are intercepted during trafficking: airport cargo holds, road vehicles, border posts, or markets. Evidence priorities shift to animal welfare, species identity, and provenance.
- Scene examples
- Airport cargo, road vehicles, border posts, markets
- Evidence priorities
- Species identity, provenance, welfare condition
- Distinguishing factor
- Animal welfare handled alongside evidence preservation
Common questions
Why does animal welfare take priority alongside evidence collection at these scenes?+
Live animals need immediate veterinary and husbandry care to survive processing, and their physical condition on discovery is itself evidence of the trafficking method used.
What establishes provenance at a live-animal seizure?+
Morphological or DNA species identification combined with packaging, transport documentation, and any accompanying paperwork that can trace where the animals originated.
Related terms
- Carcass Dump
- A secondary scene where a carcass or its parts were discarded after the valuable portions (ivory, horn, skin) were removed. Often chosen...
- Chain of Custody
- The documented chronological record of who collected, handled, transferred, and examined a piece of evidence. For digital evidence, chain of custody includes...
- Common Approach Path (CAP)
- A single designated route into and out of an inner crime scene, chosen to avoid or minimise disturbance of evidence. Every responder...
- GPS Documentation
- Recording latitude, longitude, and often elevation for every exhibit, photograph station, track, and boundary marker in the field. Produces a reproducible spatial...
- Kill Site
- The location where an animal was killed, whether by firearm, snare, or poison. The primary crime scene; typically shows tracks, blood, casing,...