Judging injuries in dogs suspected of being used in fighting - a court case

Jedan od najbrutalnijih načina zlostavljana životinja su borbe pasa. Osim fizičkog zlostavljanja psi često proživljavaju i neke oblike seksualnog i emocionalnog zlostavljanja. Ugrizne ozljeda koje u nastaju borbama uočljive su kroz duži vremenski period te s obzirom na lokalizaciju su specifične i lako dovode do sumnje. Na zahtjev jednog općinskog državnog odvjetništva bilo je potrebno na temelju kliničkog pregleda 29 prethodno oduzetih pasa i postojeće dokumentacije utvrditi ozljede i mehanizam njihovog nastanka. U podnesenoj kaznenoj prijavi postavljena je sumnja da su psi sudjelovali u borbama odnosno da je došlo do počinjenja kaznenog dijela. Ozljede koje su pronađene prilikom kliničkog pregleda zasebno su se analizirale kako bi se utvrdilo jesu li nanesene prilikom borbe pasa. Svaka lokalizacija i starost ozljeda utvrđena je kako bi se na temelju dosadašnjih spoznaja vezanih uz ozljeđivanja u borbi pasa dalo mišljenje o mehanizmu nastanka. Od 29 pasa za njih tri se može sa sigurnošću zaključiti da se radi o ozljedama nastalim tijekom borbe pasa. Određeni broj pasa, njih četiri, ima ozljede koje svojom lokacijom odgovaraju ozljedama koje mogu nastati kao posljedica ugriza pasa, no zbog brojnosti ozljeda može se isključiti povezanost s borbama pasa. Osim ozljeda analizirane su dijagnoze koje su ustanovljene tijekom kliničkog pregleda. Za većinu njih utvrđena je uzročno-posljedična veza s neadekvatnom higijenom i zdravstvenom njegom.One of the most brutal ways of abusing animals is dog fighting. In addition to physical abuse, dogs often experience some forms of sexual and emotional abuse. The bite injuries that occur in combat are noticeable over a long period of time and, given the location, are specific and easily lead to suspicion. At the request of one municipal state attorney's office, it was necessary to determine the injuries and the mechanism of their occurrence on the basis of a clinical examination of 29 previously seized dogs and existing documentation. In the filed criminal report, it was suspected that the dogs took part in the fights, ie that a criminal offense had been committed. Injuries found during clinical examination were analyzed separately to determine if they were inflicted during dog fighting. Each location and age of the injuries was determined in order to give an opinion on the mechanism of occurrence based on the current knowledge related to injuries in dog fighting. Of the 29 dogs for three of them, it can be concluded with certainty that these are injuries that occurred during the dog fight. A number of dogs, four of them, have injuries whose location corresponds to injuries that can occur as a result of dog bites, but due to the number of injuries, an association with dog fights can be ruled out. In addition to injuries, diagnoses established during a clinical examination were analyzed. For most of them, a cause-and-effect relationship has been established with inadequate hygiene and health care