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Thirty-eight participants from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD), the Hong Kong Police Force, and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) joined a training programme on forensic veterinary pathology organised by the AFCD from March 12 to 16.
The five-day programme - the first such programme organised by the AFCD -introduced the participants to the application of veterinary medicine to the forensic sciences. Topics included the fundamentals of animal abuse and diagnostic features of non-accidental injury to companion animals such as cats and dogs. The programme also offered basic skills and techniques in investigation involving injured or deceased animals or scenes involving acts of animal cruelty and forensic pathology findings, as well as guidance on handling evidence and conducting evaluations.
The programme was conducted by a leading expert in the field, Professor Ranald Munro. Professor Munro is currently Honorary Professor of Forensic Veterinary Pathology at the Royal Veterinary College, London, and an Honorary Fellow at the Royal School of Veterinary Studies, Edinburgh, where he specialises in forensic pathology in free-living species, companion animals and farmed livestock. He is the former head of pathology at the Veterinary Laboratories Agency of the United Kingdom and former president of the World Society for Protection of Animals (WSPA).
"We hope that the programme helps participants gain a better understanding of the use of veterinary medical knowledge in the investigation and prosecution of animal cruelty cases," an AFCD spokesman said today (March 16).
"It also provides a good opportunity for veterinarians, police officers and staff of the SPCA to get together to share their practical experience with each other," the spokesman added.
To further enhance co-operation in handling animal cruelty cases among the departments and organisations concerned, the AFCD, in conjunction with the Police, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and the SPCA, set up the Animal Welfare Task Force last year to review the handling animal cruelty cases. The task force focuses on enhancing mutual support, developing guidelines for higher efficiency, and establishing a mechanism for relevant departments and animal welfare organisations to provide expert advice, with a view to ensuring that the welfare of animals involved in cruelty cases is adequately protected.
Ends/Friday, March 16, 2012
Issued at HKT 17:46
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