經濟學人 | 英國為何如此重視動物福利?

(本文選自《經濟學人》20201219期)

背景介紹：

動物福利的提出最早可以追溯到19世紀的英國。1822年，英國國會議員 Richard Martin 在議會倡議設立草案，認為基於人類的慈善仁慈之心，應當禁止虐待馬牛羊。到了20世紀，現代動物福利者遍布西方各地，動物福利的理念廣為傳播，許多國家對動物福利進行了立法。時至今日，英國仍是世界上動物福利制度最完備的國家之一。

Britain’s politicians can’t find enough pet-friendly laws

Michael Jackson had Bubbles, a chimpanzee. Justin Bieber had OG Mally, a capuchin, until it was seized by German customs officials and put in a zoo. Rihanna has been photographed bottle-feeding a baby monkey on holiday. 

麥可·傑克遜曾經養過一隻名叫泡泡的黑猩猩。賈斯汀·比伯也曾養過一隻名叫OG Mally的捲尾猴，最後被德國海關官員沒收並送進了動物園。蕾哈娜曾在假期被人拍到用奶瓶餵一隻小猴。

The trio of stars would find few fans in the British government, which on December 12th proposed new restrictions on keeping primates as pets. Somewhere between 1,000 and 5,000 marmosets, lemurs, tamarins and other little species are kept in private ownership in Britain, the government reckons, often bored to misery.

這三位明星可能在英國政府裡沒什麼粉絲，因為就在12月12日，英國政府推出了一項新的舉措，以限制人們將靈長類動物作為寵物飼養。據英國政府估計，國內大約有1000隻到5000隻狨猴、狐猴、絹毛猴和其他小型靈長類動物被私人所有，這些動物常常因無聊而感到痛苦。

One of the benefits of cutting loose from the horse-eating continent is that Britain can give full rein to its passion for animals. Politicians are only too happy to oblige, for pet-friendly policies are cheap and popular. 

英國脫歐後的一大好處便是可以充分表達其對動物的熱情。政客們之所以樂此不疲，是因為寵物福利政策成本低廉且深受歡迎。

In last year’s election, the Tories promised to help councils reunite strays with their owners by making it mandatory to microchip cats and to tackle puppy-smuggling. (Sir Roger Gale, an MP, says bootleggers should have their cars crushed at Dover and be made to walk home.) 

在去年的選舉中，保守黨承諾將通過強制給貓咪植入晶片和打擊寵物走私犯罪來幫助地方議會，讓走失的寵物能夠與它們的主人團聚。（國會議員羅傑·蓋爾表示，應該將多佛港寵物販子的車砸爛，讓他們走回去。）

It will end the live export of farm animals, a symbol for eurosceptics of EU inflexibility. Labour promised to ban the live-boiling of lobsters in restaurants, and to review the use of whips by racing jockeys.

這將使養殖動物活體出口在英國成為歷史，這也是疑歐主義者對歐盟表示懷疑的標誌。工黨承諾將禁止人們在餐館裡水煮活蝦，並將監督賽馬騎師使用鞭子的情況。

Yet Britain’s animal-welfare laws are already among the most comprehensive in the world, according to the Animal Protection Index, a league table. The Animal Welfare Act of 2006, which imposed obligations on keepers to properly feed, house and stimulate animals, and to protect them from pain, disease and suffering, could be used to tackle monkey-keeping. The government is increasing the maximum penalty for abuse to five years in prison. 

然而，根據「動物保護指數」（一份排名榜）的數據，英國已經擁有世界上最全面的動物福利法律了。2006年出臺的《動物福利法》規定，動物飼養者有義務適當照料和培育動物，並保護它們免受痛苦、疾病和折磨，這項法律也適用於養猴問題。英國政府還將虐待動物的最高刑罰提高至5年有期徒刑。

MPs are moved by the traumatic loss of pets to motor accidents. James Daly, the Tory MP for the ultra-marginal seat of Bury North, has proposed 「Gizmo’s Law」, named after a constituent’s cat, the victim of a hit-and-run accident, which was cremated without its owner’s knowledge. 

國會議員們為在車禍中失去寵物的悲傷的人們而動容。北伯裡選區邊緣席位的英國保守黨議員詹姆斯·戴利提出了以一位選民的貓命名的「吉茲莫法」，這隻貓是一起肇事逃逸事故的受害者，它在主人不知情的情況下就被火化了。

The law would oblige councils that retrieve dead animals from the roadside to scan them for microchips, so that they can be reunited with their grieving owners rather than being anonymously incinerated. A draft bill in 2018 proposed criminalising drivers who failed to stop after striking a cat. (Hit-and-runs on dogs, pigs, goats and humans are already illegal.)

該法律規定，議會有義務對路邊死去的動物進行安置，通過掃描它們身體上的微晶片，以便主人能夠和它們見上最後一面，而不該在不知其身份信息的情況下直接火化。2018年的一項法律草案提議，將司機在撞到貓後不停車的行為認定為犯罪。（對狗、豬、山羊和人的肇事逃逸早已被認定為犯罪行為。）

One of the most popular proposals, judging by two petitions to Parliament which have secured more than 250,000 signatures between them, is a new offence of pet theft, which would recognise that for owners, dognapping feels more like the abduction of a child than the purloining of a television. Stealing a pet is already punishable by up to seven years in prison under the Theft Act, and judges can already account for the emotional distress when passing sentence. 

從兩份提交到議會、共有超過25萬人籤名的請願書來看，最受歡迎的一項提案是新寵物盜竊罪，它將使人們認識到，對狗主人來說，寵物被偷走更像是孩子被綁架，而不是丟了一臺電視機。根據《盜竊法》，偷竊寵物最高可被判處7年有期徒刑，並且法官在判決量刑時可以將精神傷害考慮在內。

(紅色標註詞為重難點詞彙) 

本文翻譯：Vinnie

校核：Vinnie

編輯：Vinnie

英國是全球最早提出動物福利概念的國家，早在1960年，英國就頒布了一項《動物遺棄法》，明確規定遺棄動物屬於犯罪行為。時至今日，英國已經擁有全球最為完備的動物福利制度，但英國政客仍在樂此不疲地尋找有關動物福利的法律。

mandatory [ˈmændətɔːri] adj. 強制的；命令的

obligation [ˌɑːblɪˈɡeɪʃn] n. 義務；職責；債務

traumatic [trəˈmætɪk] adj. 令人痛苦的

cremate [ˈkriːmeɪt] vt. 火葬；燒盡

incinerate [ɪnˈsɪnəreɪt] v. 焚化；燒成灰

abduction [æbˈdʌkʃn] n. 綁架；誘導

purloin [ˈpɜːrlɔɪn] v. 偷竊

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