Animal Abuse Recognition & Reporting Series

Forensic veterinary medicine has become an important part of today’s criminal justice system—in large part thanks to Dr. Melinda Merck’s efforts in the field.

Animal cruelty: It’s something no veterinarian wants to see but inevitably will at some point. That’s why it’s so important to learn how to handle a suspected case of abuse before it shows up at your clinic.

Since spring of 2021, Ohio veterinarians are mandatory reporters of animal abuse, but making that determination isn’t as easy as it sounds.

Although reporting cases of animal abuse, cruelty, and neglect has always been a moral obligation in the veterinary community, a newly enacted Ohio law has made it mandatory.

Although egregious animal cruelty is easy to spot, there are more subtle forms of abuse that can be difficult to define—especially in those species you rarely, if ever, work with.