SWFS Reporting Standards
Definition
Minimum standards set by the Society for Wildlife Forensic Science specifying what a forensic report must state, including the question, the methods, the known limitations, and conclusions expressed as degrees of support rather than absolute statements.
- Issuing body
- Society for Wildlife Forensic Science
- Report must state
- Question, methods, limitations, conclusions
- Conclusion format
- Degrees of support, not absolute statements
Common questions
Why do the standards require conclusions as degrees of support rather than absolute statements?+
Wildlife identification often relies on partial remains, processed products, or reference databases with incomplete population coverage, so an absolute claim of certainty overstates what the science can actually support. Framing conclusions in terms of support strength is more defensible under cross-examination and better reflects the method's real limits.
How do these standards help a court evaluate an unfamiliar wildlife forensic report?+
By requiring every report to explicitly state its question, methods, and known limitations, a judge or opposing expert without wildlife forensic background can assess what the analysis did and did not establish, rather than relying solely on the examiner's stated conclusion.
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