Bio
Jacquelyn Johnston graduated in 2021 with a Ph.D. in the Global and Sociocultural Studies Department at Florida International University. Johnston spent over a decade working in nonprofit and government animal welfare organizations, earned an MBA from FIU, and an MS in Veterinary Forensic Science from the University of Florida.
Her current research intersects biopolitical analysis and more-than-human geography. She focuses on the political invocation of ferality in government programs managing stray populations of dogs and cats, incongruous legal requirements for culling animals as legislatively determined by custody, links between animal advocacy and political response as "humane" programs, and the arbitrary and contingent ways ferality is operationalized in animal welfare debates between domestic and wild life advocates.
Future projects further problematize the way nonhuman animals are classified through politicized programs and anthropocentric narratives, including the way "invasive" and "nonnative" animals are rendered killable and the ongoing disruption of urban ecosystems through the untempered destruction of "nuisance" urban animals. She's currently working on papers about urban animals in South Florida, with specific discussions involving "feral" cats, green iguanas, a parking lot full of over 20 species of birds, and small/medium mammalian predators like raccoons and opossums.
One of Johnston's goals is to bridge academic writing with humane animal policy. Her recent work addresses the disconnect between urban animal-human encounter mitigation policy and practice. She builds upon the established acceptance of “nonnative/invasive” animal killability to demonstrate how such violence is frequently extended to “native” animals, particularly in urban spaces. Previous research on urban free-roaming cat politics and policy was shared with Humane Society International India during the policy review of the controversial Animal Birth Control program and reviewed by members of NYU Abu Dhabi working on potential impacts on local policies.
Johnston is happy to share copies of her publications, data, and assist in policy development projects, so please do not hesitate to reach out. More information about her research and policy impact can be found here.
Johnston is currently managed by a musical-theater-loving twelve-year-old human, two Dobermans, several foster dogs, three cats, and the real boss of the house - a dachshund named Potato.