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丹麥的小美人魚雕像最近又遭殃了，渾身被噴上了紅漆，看上去「血淋淋的」，慘不忍睹。原來是動物保護者藉此抗議人們殘忍的捕鯨行動。
自從1963年以來，小美人魚屢屢成為文物破壞者的目標，多次被塗油漆、割頭、割手臂，甚至被炸掉。這座小美人魚雕像能「倖存」到今天，沒有像安徒生童話中一樣化為泡沫，還真是不易。
A Little Mermaid statue has been coated in red paint by animal rights activists protesting brutal whale hunts in Denmark.
為抵制丹麥殘忍的捕鯨活動，動物權利保護人士將小美人魚雕像塗滿了紅漆。
The 94-year-old monument, a tribute to Danish storyteller Hans Christian Andersen, was found covered in paint on Tuesday morning.
周二清晨，小美人魚雕像被發現噴滿了紅漆。這座有94年歷史的雕像是為了向丹麥童話作家漢斯•克裡斯蒂安•安徒生致敬。
Vandals had then written 'Denmark defend the whales of the Faroe Islands' on a footpath nearby.
破壞者還在附近的一條小徑上寫下「丹麥應當保護法羅群島的鯨魚」。
Every year around 800 pilot whales are herded into coves on the Faroe Islands before being stabbed to death during a hunt known as grindadrap - or 'the grind'.
每年，約八百頭領航鯨被趕進法羅群島的海灣，然後在被稱為「法羅群島捕鯨行動」中被殺死。
Traditionally a bonfire was lit when a pod of whales was spotted near the islands in order to alert fishermen to ready their boats.
傳統習慣是，每當在島嶼附近出現一群鯨魚，就會有人點燃篝火，提醒漁民準備船隻出航捕獵。
Today word spreads on social media before the vessels head out to drive the mammals into the shore.
而現在，在船隻驅趕鯨魚靠岸前，捕鯨的消息會通過社交媒體傳播。
Hunters armed with knives mounted on long poles then gather in a cove, where they kill the animals by severing their spinal chords and arteries.
捕鯨者們會帶上有長杆的刀，聚集在一個海灣旁。在那裡，他們會切斷鯨魚的脊椎和動脈來殺死它們。
The practice dates back at least 300 years. Locals say the whales are not under threat and the killings violate no laws.
這樣的捕鯨行動可以追溯到至少300年前。當地人說，鯨魚並沒有受到數量銳減的威脅，而且這種捕鯨行動是並不違法。
The Faroe Islands comprises 17 inhabited islands located around 260 miles north of John O'Groats, Scotland.
法羅群島位於蘇格蘭約翰奧格羅茨以北約260英裡處，包含17個有人居住的島嶼。
In the 1940s the population voted to succeed from Denmark, but after the government failed to agree a deal the proposal was dropped in favour of laws allowing greater home rule.
在二十世紀四十年代，法羅群島通過公投脫離丹麥，但政府未能達成協議，所以該提案被放棄了，取而代之的是更加寬鬆的群島內部法。
Today the islands are largely self-governing, though still technically part of the Kingdom of Denmark.
如今，法羅群島在很大程度上都是自治的，不過，從嚴格意義上講，該群島仍是丹麥王國的一部分。
Pilot whales are highly sociable and intelligent creatures, and researchers believe they are capable of grief and may even possess their own culture.
領航鯨是具有高級社交能力和智力的生物。研究人員認為它們有悲傷的能力，甚至可能擁有自己的文化。
The Faroese hunts rely on the whales' loyalty to work, as the mammals will attempt to defend each other even while being hacked to death.
法羅群島捕鯨活動主要利用的是鯨魚對族群的忠誠。因為這種哺乳動物即便要被襲擊殺死也會試圖保護彼此。
Finished in 1913, the Little Mermaid statue spent its first 50 years virtually untouched, before becoming a target for politically-minded vandals.
小美人魚雕像於1913年完工，前五十年一直安然無恙，直到被有政治頭腦的破壞者設為目標。
The bronze sculpture was first doused with paint in 1963, with copycat vandalisms in 1972, 2006, and two in 2007.
這座青銅雕塑在1963年首次被破壞者塗上了油漆，接著在1972年和2006年各有一次類似的遭遇，2007年被塗了兩次。
The most well-known defacing occurred in 1964 when the mermaid's head was cut off and stolen by artists from the Situationist movement.
最臭名昭著的損毀雕像事件發生在1964年，雕塑的頭部被幾個情境主義運動藝術家切下並偷走。
Police never recovered the head, and a new one had to be cast.
警方未能追回雕塑的頭部，不得不為小美人魚重新澆築了一個頭。
In 1984 the right arm was cut off from the wrist to the shoulder, before being returned two days later.
1984年，小美人魚的右臂被從肩膀處割斷，兩天後才被還回來。
There was another failed decapitation in 1990, before someone succeeded in removing the head again in 1998.
1990年，有人蓄謀再次割下小美人魚的頭部，但是失敗了。而在1998年，小美人魚的頭部又被割走了。
Again the culprit was never caught, though this time the head was returned to a local television station and reattached.
同上一次一樣，作案者一直未被抓獲。但是這一次雕塑頭部被送回了當地的一家電視臺，後來又被重新安了回去。
In 2004 explosives were used to blow the mermaid off her pedestal, and she was later found floating in the harbor with holes in her knee and waist.
2004年，有人用炸藥將小美人魚從基座上炸了下來，被發現漂浮在港口附近，膝蓋和腰部布滿了小洞。
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英文來源：每日郵報
翻譯：王雪薇（中國日報網愛新聞iNews譯者）
編審：丹妮