Morgan, RM;
Wiltshire, P;
Parker, A;
Bull, PA;
(2006)
The role of forensic geoscience in wildlife crime detection.
FORENSIC SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL
, 162
(1-3)
152 - 162.
10.1016/j.forsciint.2006.06.045.
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Abstract
The increase in both automation and precision in the analysis of geological materials has had significant impact upon forensic investigations in the last 10 years. There is however, a fundamental philosophical difference between forensic and geological enquiry. This paper presents the results of forensic geoscientific investigations of three cases of wildlife crime. Two cases involve the analysis of soils recovered after incidents of illegal badger baiting in the United Kingdom. The third case involves the illegal importation of Eleonora's Falcon (Falco eleonorae) into the United Kingdom from the Mediterranean. All three cases utilise the analysis of soils by a variety of physical, chemical and biological techniques. These involve mineral and grain size analyses, cation and anion compositions, pH, organic content and pollen analysis.The independent analysis undertaken by specialists in each of these three main fields conclude firstly, that there is a significant similarity between sediments taken at the crime site at both badger setts and with sediments recovered from various spades, shovels and clothing belonging to suspects and secondly, that the soils analysed associated with the removal of the falcon eggs in the Mediterranean contained characteristics similar in many respects to the soils of the breeding areas of E eleonorae on the cliffs of Mallorca. The use of these independent techniques in wildlife crime detection has great potential given the ubiquitous nature of soils and sediments found in association with wildlife sites. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | The role of forensic geoscience in wildlife crime detection |
| Location: | Hong Kong, PEOPLES R CHINA |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.forsciint.2006.06.045 |
| Keywords: | forensic geoscience, Eleonora's falcon, badger baiting, soil and sediment, pollen, quartz |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Security and Crime Science |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/11321 |
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