Application of Specialized Forensic Ethics Knowledge in Cases Involving Animal Cruelty

The article examines the problem of forensic ethical assessment of informational materials and acts documented therein in cases of animal cruelty (Article 245 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The objective difficulty lies in the fact that there is no unified, scientifically based methodology for conducting such an assessment currently. Drawing on court cases, the article demonstrates the consequences of this gap: both judicial decisions remain open to debate regarding the ethical assessment of the case circumstances. As a tool capable of filling this gap, the article proposes the method of axiological situational analysis within the framework of forensic ethics examination. Axiological situational analysis is defined herein as a method of forensic ethics examination involving reconstruction of value-significant circumstances of a case, their ethical assessment, and comparison with traditional ethical norms and standards embedded in the system of traditional spiritual and moral values, legal acts, codes of professional ethics, and principles of applied ethics prescribed for a given situation or in the exercise of the relevant social role. On the basis of the analysis of the materials of both cases, potential legal and procedural implications of applying specialized forensic ethics knowledge are formulated.