A casework study: The effect of the porcine digestive process on animal carcasses and human teeth
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
- Publication Type:
- Journal Article
- Citation:
- Forensic Science International, 2023, 345, pp. 111617
- Issue Date:
- 2023-04
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| Filename | Description | Size | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-s2.0-S0379073823000671-main.pdf | Published version | 14.27 MB |
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What happens if a human body is fed to pigs Although a popular notion in the entertainment industry no scientific published literature exists that documents this porcine feeding behaviour nor more importantly what elements of the cadaver may survive such a process A study conducted in 2020 born out of a casework enquiry aimed to investigate the following two questions Would pigs feed on a human body And if so what could be recovered post feeding event Kangaroo carcasses porcine carcasses as human analogues and 90 human teeth were prepared and fed to two domestic pigs in a variety of feed scenarios Biological traces including bones bone fragments teeth and tooth fragments were recovered both post digestion from the faeces of the pigs as well as uneaten from the porcine enclosure 29 of all human teeth were recovered from the study 35 of which were recovered post digestion from the faeces and 65 were recovered uneaten from the porcine enclosure Of the recovered human teeth 81 were deemed suitable for identification by a forensic odontologist From the 447 bones recovered from the enclosure 94 could be identified to a bone type and species From all 3338 bone fragments recovered from the faeces of the pigs none retained any morphological traits that would allow further intelligence to be generated Overall it was found that pigs will feed on human analogues and will consume soft tissue bones and human teeth Biological traces in the form of bones bone fragments teeth and tooth fragments may be recovered both post digestion from the faeces or from the porcine enclosure The biological traces can be used for identification of an individual via forensic odontology identification of a species via forensic anthropology and may be suitable for DNA analysis The outcomes of this study generated new avenues for investigation in the case and may be used to inform future operational resources
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