Researcher found guilty of poisoning cats
Nico Dauphiné, the National Zoo researcher accused of poisoning feral cats in the D.C. neighborhood of Meridian Hill Park, was convicted of animal cruelty charges yesterday.
DCist reports that Dauphiné, who denied the allegations in court last week, was pronounced guilty of the misdemeanor charge by D.C. Superior Court Judge Truman Morrison. She will be sentenced on November 21 and faces up to 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Evidence in the case included a video of Dauphiné appearing to plant something from her purse into a feeder.
“Our Humane Law Enforcement Department works hard to bring justice to abused animals in our city, and we can say with confidence that justice was served today,” said Lisa LaFontaine, president and CEO of the Washington Humane Society, which played a large role in the investigation of the claims.
In a press release, Alley Cat Allies, a national advocacy organization dedicated to the humane treatment of cats, welcomed the verdict and called for Dauphiné to be dismissed from her job as a Smithsonian researcher studying migratory birds.
“We are satisfied with this verdict,” said Becky Robinson, president of Alley Cat Allies. “Americans care about cats and will not tolerate cruelty towards them. We are grateful to law enforcement and to the prosecutors for treating this crime with the seriousness it deserved.”
“We call on the Smithsonian to immediately dismiss Ms. Dauphiné from her position and cancel any research projects in which she was involved,” said Robinson. “Her conviction for attempting to kill cats, along with her history of condemning cats in research, leaves her work suspect of major bias. Her work should be discredited and disregarded by the scientific community.”
“Killing cats is illegal, and feral cats are protected under the law,” she added. “Anti-cruelty laws protect all cats — pet, stray, or feral — in every state and the District of Columbia. Americans who are demanding humane approaches for cats are not going to allow this kind of cruelty to go unpunished.”
Posted by jwoestendiek November 1st, 2011 under Muttsblog.
Tags: alley cat allies, animal cruelty, cats, cruelty to animals, feral cats, guilty, migratory birds, misdemeanor, national zoo, nico daupine, poisoning, researcher, smithsonian, strays, verdict, washington humane society
Comments
Comment from jackie
Time November 1, 2011 at 9:43 am
Give the biotch what she deserves. How cruel can she be. We have way too much animal cruelty in this world already.
Comment from Nancy Robison
Time November 1, 2011 at 2:49 pm
cats and birds are natural enemies in nature. killing cats because they kill kill birds is sick and goes against the natural world. we should kill anything that kills another animal then.. hello wake up! how about humans that kill other humans? people need to get a grip and I do not want to support a place that can give a home to someone so one sided and wrong. jail her!!!
Comment from duclo
Time November 1, 2011 at 3:53 pm
pretty clear from the videos and the testimony that she did this. she needs some help after serving some time, she’s sick and should not be working with animals or any other vulnerable beings until she has been through years of treatment and is checked and certified to be allowed access again, IF AT ALL. I hope the judge mandates treatment as well as punishment.
Comment from KBear
Time November 1, 2011 at 10:06 pm
I don’t condone what she did, but I honestly do understand it. The havoc and destruction that domestic cats cause to birds and other wildlife is mind boggling. Domesticated cats have advantage in a number of ways, not least in their sheer numbers, and wildlife already in peril due to loss of habit/food, and toxins are significantly impacted by predation by cats. I have dogs and (indoor only) cats, but I am also an avid lover of wildlife. I can attest to countless instances where cats permitted to roam have killed or maimed birds, snakes, and small mammals – in my yard alone. In none of these cases did the cats actually eat the kill, so this is instinct and recreation, not survival. The circumstances of stray, abandoned, and feral cats is different, and I feel for their plight. The people who abandon their animals and/or fail to spay/neuter to prevent indiscriminate reproduction are at fault. As usual, the animals (cats and birds) are paying the price.
Comment from vida
Time November 2, 2011 at 4:37 pm
I guess I can’t condone or understand. The major destroyer of wild life is human beings and our habitat destruction. And our hunting ‘sport’ and so on. As I really don’t want to face poison sprinkled in my field salad I tend to frown on this kind of thing. It’s both cruel and illogical.
Comment from Redbud
Time November 1, 2011 at 7:55 am
I do not agree with this verdict. Alley Cat Allies are the ones that should be charged with animal cruelty fir their support of TNR. I support Nico 100% and hope that the truth will eventually be revealed.