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Australia, home to the world’s largest camel herd 作者：Sarah Bell @ 2013-5-19
澳大利亞因野生動物而聞名遐邇：袋鼠,、考拉以及種類眾多的蛇類與蜘蛛。不過，澳大利亞還是世界最大的駱駝之鄉(xiāng),。約有75萬匹只駱駝生活在澳大利亞的廣袤內陸【譯注：本文outback一詞專指澳大利亞人煙稀少的廣袤內陸地區(qū),，后文皆譯作“內陸”】，并制造了很多麻煩,。 Camels were imported to Australia in the 19th century from Arabia, India and Afghanistan for transport and heavy work in the outback. But when the internal combustion engine came along and they were no longer needed, several thousand were released into the wild. 駱駝是19世紀從阿拉伯,、印度和阿富汗進口到澳大利亞的，在內陸用于運輸和重體力工作,。不過隨著內燃機的出現,，它們就派不上用場了，當中有幾千匹被放生到野外,。 With no natural predators and vast sparsely-populated areas in which to roam, the camels have flourished and are having a huge impact on the wilderness. 駱駝在內陸沒有天敵,，活動范圍又是廣闊的人口稀疏地區(qū)，因而得以大量繁衍,，如今正對野生環(huán)境造成巨大影響,。 “One of the biggest problems is that they drink large amounts of water. They gulp down gallons at a time and cause millions of pounds worth of damage to farms and waterholes which are used to water stock. They also drink dry waterholes belonging to the Aborigines,” says explorer and writer Simon Reeve. “其中一個大問題是,，它們飲水量巨大,。駱駝一次能灌下好幾加侖的水，給農場和儲水塘造成的數百萬磅損失,。它們還能把澳洲土著民的儲水塘給喝干,。”探險家,、作家Simon Reeve如是說,。 “Camels are almost uniquely brilliant at surviving the conditions in the outback. Introducing them was short-term genius and long-term disaster.” “論到在內陸環(huán)境中生存，駱駝的出色能力無與倫比,。把它們引入內陸,，短期來看是天才之舉，長期來看則是災難,?！?/p> Lyndee Severin runs a one-million-acre ranch west of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory that has been overrun by the camels. 北領地【譯注：又稱澳北區(qū)】的駱駝現已泛濫成災，Lyndee Severin就在該區(qū)愛麗絲泉市的西部經營著一個百萬英畝的大牧場,。 “They do a lot of damage to infrastructure for us, so there’s a lot of damage to fences. They break tanks, they break pumps, they break pipes, they break fences – fences have been our biggest concern,” she says. 她說：“它們對我們的基礎設施造成了巨大破壞,，圍欄大量受損。它們把蓄水池搞壞,，把抽水泵搞壞,，把管子搞壞，把圍欄搞壞,。我們最擔心的就是圍欄,。” But her concern is not confined to her own business – the camels put pressure on native Australian species by reducing food sources and destroying their habitats. “They will just take everything in the landscape and if they destroy the trees and eat the grasses there’s no kangaroos, no emus, no small birds if there’s no trees, no reptiles,” she says. 但她所擔憂的不只是自己的生意。駱駝給澳大利亞本土的生物物種帶來了巨大壓力,，因為它們減少了食物供應,，破壞了本土物種的棲息地。她說：“它們會吃地上的一切東西,。如果它們把樹都毀掉,，草都吃掉，就不會再有袋鼠,，不會再有鴯鹋,，不會再有小鳥，沒有樹,，也不會再有爬行動物,。” Severin and her team shoot the beasts, often from helicopters, and leave them to rot where they fall. “It’s not something that we enjoy doing, but it’s something that we have to do.” Severin及其團隊會射殺這些野獸,，一般是從直升機上射殺,，并讓其就地腐爛?！拔覀儾⒉幌矚g做這種事,，但又必須做?！?/p> Camels roam freely across an area of 3.3 million sq km (1.3 million sq miles) encompassing the states of Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland, as well as the Northern Territory. They are mainly Dromedaries, but some are Bactrian camels. Humans have introduced dozens of species into Australia – including wild horses, pigs, goats, dogs, cats, rabbits and foxes – and these have now become a major problem for the ecosystem. 駱駝在包括西澳,、南澳、昆士蘭及北領地在內的330萬平方公里（合130萬平方英里）范圍內自由出沒,。它們主要是單峰駝,，但也有一些雙峰駝。人類已將數十個物種引入澳大利亞,，包括野馬,、豬、羊,、狗,、貓、兔子和狐貍等,，這些動物現在已為生態(tài)系統(tǒng)帶來了一個嚴重的問題,。
In 2010 the Australian government endorsed a control plan, the Australian Feral Camel Management Project, which aimed to reduce camel densities through culling and mustering the animals for sale. Between 2001 and 2008 it was estimated there were up to a million feral camels in the outback, but thousands were culled under the project. 2010年澳大利亞政府簽署了一項名為“澳大利亞野生駱駝管理項目”的控制計劃,，意在通過選擇性地捕殺并出售駱駝來減低駱駝的密度。2001至2008年間,，內陸的野生駱駝數量估計多達100萬,，但該項目已宰殺其中數千匹,。 Animals Australia, a pressure group, described this as a “bloodbath”. For its part, RSPCA Australia says it would support a national approach to feral camel management, only if “the programmes are clearly explained and justified… and use the most humane methods available”. 壓力集團“動物澳洲”將該計劃稱為“大屠殺”。而澳大利亞“皇家防止虐待動物協(xié)會”（RSPCA）則說它愿意支持采取全國性的辦法來控制野生駱駝,，但要求“對規(guī)劃進行清楚的解釋和論證……并采用能夠用到的最人道方法”,。 But many farmers feel that they do not have much choice – and must do what they can with or without a national programme. The economic cost of grazing land loss and damage by feral camels has been estimated at 10m Australian dollars (￡6.6m). 然而，許多農場主感到他們并沒有什么選擇余地,，而且不管有沒有全國性規(guī)劃,，他們都必須采取可行措施。據估計,，野生駱駝導致牧場流失和破壞,，其帶來的經濟損失已達1000萬澳元（合660萬英磅）。 “Killing them seems a tragic waste to many of us but the sheer logistics involved mean there is little choice. It is an issue I find more and more as I travel around the world. Humans introduce animals into fragile ecosystems. What do we do about it?” says Reeve, who is presenting a new series on Australia for BBC television. Reeve說：“對我們許多人而言,，殺害它們似乎是一種可悲的浪費,，但單單其中所涉及的物流運輸就意味著我們沒多少別的選擇。隨著我在世界各地旅行,，我越來越多地發(fā)現這種事,。人類將動物引入脆弱的生態(tài)系統(tǒng)。我們該拿它怎么辦,？” Reeve現在正為BBC電視臺一套新的澳洲系列節(jié)目擔任主持,。 “It’s not enough for us to stand back and say I can’t bear to see animals being killed. If we are going to make ourselves gods by meddling with an ecosystem then we have to take the responsibility to sort it out.” “置身事外，說自己不忍看到動物們被殺害,，這并不夠,。既然我們把自己變成了干預生態(tài)系統(tǒng)的神,，那我們就必須承擔起責任,、解決問題?！?/p> Ian Conway, who runs the 1,800 sq km Kings Creek cattle ranch, also near Alice Springs, believes there is a better way of managing their numbers – rounding camels up and selling them for their meat. Ian Conway也在愛麗絲泉市附近經營一家1800平米,、名為Kings Creek的牧牛場。他相信有更好的方法來控制駱駝數量：圍捕它們,，出售駱駝肉,。 Camels range over a vast area and can travel more than 40 miles in a day, so his team uses a helicopter to spot “mobs” of camels. They are then rounded up using heavily-modified off-road vehicles and put into a holding pen, before being sold to the Middle East. 駱駝的活動范圍很廣，且一天能走40英里,，所以Conway的團隊使用直升機去尋找駱駝“小隊”,。然后使用經大幅改裝的越野車將它們圍起來，關在畜欄里,，最后賣到中東去,。 Conway, who has been mustering animals for more than 40 years, says: “There’s no difference to camel and beef, in fact to a lot of people who live on camel like we do, prefer it to beef.” Some are also sold as riding camels, he adds. Conway干圍捕動物這一行已有40多年。他說：“駱駝肉和牛肉沒啥區(qū)別,，事實上好多跟我們一樣以駱駝肉為食的人,，覺得它比牛肉要好。”也有些駱駝是賣出去做騎乘用的,，他補充說,。 “The Saudis are always interested in them but they are looking for a specific camel. I’ve got a bloke who wants beauty camels at the moment. The bulls are no good. They like the cows because of their thin heads, but the cows have got to have their lips hanging, for what reason I don’t know,” says Conway. “沙特人對駱駝總是特別感興趣，不過他們對駱駝有特定要求?，F在就有個家伙找我要漂亮的駱駝,。公的不行。母駱駝腦袋瘦小,，沙特人喜歡,，不過得是嘴唇下垂的母駱駝，不知道為啥,，”Conway說,。 He thinks a round-up is more humane than the alternative. “They just shoot them and nothing is done with them. We don’t know if they lay there for days. I’d like them to come into the yard like this and be sold as meat or riding camels,” he says. 他認為圍捕比其他處理方法更為人道?！八麄兙湍脴尨?，別的都不管。我們都不知道駱駝是不是會在那兒躺好幾天,。我還是愿意像這樣把它們弄到畜欄里來,，然后當做食用或騎用駱駝賣掉，”他說,。 In many outback areas it is not cost-effective to round up and sell the camels. But Conway is convinced that with the right investment this could become a profitable way of protecting ranches and the environment. 在許多內陸地區(qū),，圍捕并出售駱駝并不劃算。但Conway堅信,，只要投資得當,，這種保護牧場和環(huán)境的辦法將會有利可圖。 （編輯：輝格@whigzhou） *注：本譯文未經原作者授權,，本站對原文不持有也不主張任何權利,，如果你恰好對原文擁有權益并希望我們移除相關內容，請私信聯(lián)系,，我們會立即作出響應,。 ——海德沙龍·翻譯組，致力于將英文世界的好文章搬進中文世界—— |
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Australia is famous for its wildlife – kangaroos, koalas and numerous species of snakes and spiders – but it is also home to the world’s largest herd of camels. There are about 750,000 roaming wild in the outback and they cause a host of problems.
