Nico Dauphine, a researcher at the Smithsonian Institution’s Migratory Bird Center, was found guilty of misdemeanor cruelty after an investigation last spring showed her in video surveillance placing rat poison around the food of feral cats left out by caregivers in her Washington, D.C. neighborhood.

We are happy to hear she resigned her position on Monday, and the Smithsonian accepted her resignation effective immediately.

Today we’re calling on the Smithsonian Institution to halt any research of Nico Dauphine’s and commit to never hiring her again in any capacity, in light of the guilty verdict in her attempted cruelty towards animals case.

A person convicted of attempted animal cruelty should never be allowed to work at an organization whose stated mission includes ‘demonstrating leadership in animal care.’ We hope the Smithsonian will never employ her again in any capacity.

Read the Press Release.