A woman specializing in bird conservation at the National Zoo in Washington DC was charged with animal cruelty after a month-long investigation into her connection with the poisoning of feral cats with rat poison was discovered. According to caretakers of the feral cat colony, they discovered that Nico Dauphine was responsible for the slaughtering of cats that been taking place in the area. Dauphine, a postdoctoral fellow with the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center at the National Zoo, said she did it in order to “protect” the birds at the sanctuary. The Washington Humane Society was contacted by the caretakers of the Columbia Heights colony after they noticed unusual substances were being placed in the food bowls. The investigation included “monitoring video surveillance and matching card swipes in and out of an apartment complex near the scene of the alleged crime.” The Humane Society said the evidence shows the woman putting out dishes of food for the cats. Upon compiling evidence, the animal welfare organization obtained a warrant for her arrest. Dauphine then turned herself in, but has denied any charges against her. Her lawyer said in comments published by Care2 that “her whole life is devoted to the care and welfare of animals.” According to the same report, the PhD has had a hatred of feral cats throughout her career. In 2009, she delivered an online lecture entitled, “Apocalypse Meow: Free-ranging Cats and the Destruction of American Wildlife,” which discussed how feral cats kill billions of animals in the US each year. When Dauphine was a student, in 2007, she wrote to the New York Times in response to a story about a cat that was killed after hunting and an endangered bird. “Do we call it a war when the slaughter is almost exclusively one-sided? The birds are simply trying to survive in the face of formidable odds,” she wrote. Animal rights activists in Washington have called on the police to charge her with animal cruelty in order to “show people that these crimes do not go unpunished.” Sam Kingesly, a student animal activist at George Mason University in the DC metro area, told Bikya Masr that “this is a crime that deserves to be tried because it will tell people that you cannot murder innocent lives because they have become an inconvenience to your work. It is disgusting.” At present, the National Zoo is standing behind its employee, stating that her research does not “jeopardize wildlife.” However, zoo officials say they will terminate Dauphine's employment if she is found guilty. Dauphine faces up to 180 days in jail and a fine of $1,000. BM
