<
https://www.positive.news/society/how-forensic-science-is-helping-tackle-poaching/>
"At first glance, Britta Jaschinski’s award-winning photo below looks like an
otherworldly portrait of a green turtle drifting through luminous water.
Look closer, however, and the human trace appears: a handprint, revealed by
forensic powder under ultraviolet light.
The technique, developed by wildlife crime specialists from the UK’s Wildlife
Crime and Forensics Unit, can expose fingerprints, blood, bodily fluids and
gunpowder residue, helping investigators track poachers and disrupt illegal
wildlife trade networks.
“I created this image to expose the traces we leave behind and to demonstrate
how science is becoming a vital tool in protecting wildlife from exploitation,”
Jaschinski tells
Positive News.
A similar technique has been used to disrupt the ivory trade. Using a newly
developed magnetic powder, Mark Moseley, a forensic investigator at London’s
Metropolitan police, dusts for and detects human fingerprints on an elephant
tusk confiscated at Heathrow Airport.
More than 200 fingerprinting kits based on this technology have been
distributed to border forces across 40 countries in Africa and Asia. The
results have been immediate. In Kenya, evidence recovered using one kit led to
15 arrests, including five police officers, and the seizure of 11 elephant
tusks. For the first time, ivory was not just proof of a crime; it was evidence
of who committed it."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
