VOA时事新闻2023 清除流浪猫计划在波多黎各引发争议

（单词翻译）

清除流浪猫计划在波多黎各引发争议

The US National Park Service recently announced a plan to remove hundreds of stray cats that wander historic Old San Juan on the island of Puerto Rico.

美国国家公园管理局最近宣布了一项计划，将清除数百只在波多黎各岛历史悠久的圣胡安老城游荡的流浪猫。

Local people and tourists consider the cats a joy, but some are bothered by them while others worry about disease.

当地居民和游客认为这些猫能给人带来快乐，但有些人因它们感到困扰，而另一些人则担心疾病。

There are about 200 cats that live on about 30 hectares surrounding the old fortress¹ at the San Juan Historic Site.

大约有200只猫生活在圣胡安历史遗址的古堡垒周围约30公顷的土地上。

The U.S. federal agency operates the site because Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States.

因为波多黎各是美国的领土，所以该美国联邦机构负责运营该遗址。

The park service said it will pay an animal welfare organization to remove the cats.

国家公园管理局表示，其将会向动物福利组织支付费用，让他们移走这些猫。

If the organization does not remove the cats within six months, the park service said it will have the cats removed.

国家公园管理局表示，如果动物福利组织在六个月内不移走这些猫，其将会把它们移走。

Cat lovers are disappointed with the plan.

爱猫人士对这一计划感到失望。

However, the agency said that the cats can spread diseases to humans.

然而，该机构表示，这些猫可能会把疾病传播给人类。

The plan said that the removal will be of value to visitors by reducing the possibility of disease.

该计划称，通过减少疾病的可能性，移走这些猫对游客来说将是有价值的。

Ana Maria Salicrup works for the nonprofit group Save a Gato.

安娜·玛丽亚·萨利克鲁普就职于非营利组织“拯救猫”。

"Gato" is the Spanish word for "cat."

“Gato”在西班牙语中是“猫”的意思。

The group has helped care for the cats for years and hopes the agency will choose it to do the work.

该组织多年来一直在帮助照顾这些猫，并希望该机构能选择它来做这项工作。

However, Salicrup said that the six-month time limit is not realistic.

然而，萨利克鲁普表示，六个月的期限是不现实的。

"Anyone who has worked with cats knows that is impossible. They are setting us up for failure," Salicrup said.

萨利克鲁普说：“任何与猫打交道的人都知道这是不可能的。他们正在为我们的失败做准备。”

There are many different kinds of cats with different behaviors that wander along the fortress known as "El Morro" which was built in the 1500s.

那里有许多不同种类的猫，它们有不同的行为，它们在这座建于16世纪的堡垒上漫步，这座堡垒被称为“埃尔莫罗”。

The fortress is by the ocean and the island's capital, San Juan.

这座堡垒位于海边和该岛的首都圣胡安。

The cats are believed to have come from the time when Puerto Rico was a colony of Spain.

据信，这些猫来自波多黎各还是西班牙殖民地的时候。

But some were brought to the capital to kill rats in the mid-1900s by Mayor Felisa Rincon de Gautier, the first female mayor elected in the Americas.

但在20世纪中期，美洲第一位当选的女市长费利萨·林肯·德·戈蒂埃把其中一些猫带到首都灭鼠。

The cats have since increased in number over the years.

自那以后，猫的数量逐年增加。

Visitors to Old San Juan often take pictures with the cats, and residents and volunteers with Save a Gato take care of them.

来到圣胡安老城的游客经常和这些猫合影，当地居民和“拯救猫”组织的志愿者会照顾它们。

The group feeds, sterilizes², and places them for adoption³.

该组织给它们喂食、绝育，然后把它们送去领养。

Federal officials said two years ago that area was overpopulated with cats.

联邦官员两年前表示，该地区猫的数量过多。

The smell of waste and the behavior of the cats was "inconsistent with the cultural landscape," the agency said.

该机构表示，粪便的气味和猫的行为“与文化景观不符”。

Last year, the National Park Service offered two possibilities during a public meeting: remove the animals or do nothing.

去年，国家公园管理局在一次公开会议上提出了两种可能性：要么移走猫，要么什么都不做。

Those in attendance rejected removing the cats.

出席会议的人拒绝将猫移走。

One man described the cats as "one of the wonders of Old San Juan."

一名男子称这些猫为“圣胡安老城的奇迹之一”。

The local people have even created a statue of the cats in the historic area.

当地人甚至在这个历史悠久的地区建造了一尊猫的雕像。

Danna Wakefield works in the solar industry and moved to Puerto Rico in 2020.

丹娜·韦克菲尔德在太阳能行业工作，并于2020年搬到波多黎各。

She visits the cats weekly.

她每周都会去看猫。

She told the Associated Press, "These cats are unique to San Juan. Me and many other people love that walk because of the cats."

她告诉美联社：“这些猫是圣胡安独有的。因为有猫，我和其他许多人都喜欢到那里散步。”

In the removal plan, the agency said that cat feeding areas are to be removed unless they are used to trap cats.

在转移猫的计划中，该机构表示，除非猫喂食区被用来诱捕猫，否则它们将会被拆除。

It said that feeding the cats is not permitted and attracts rats.

该机构表示，不允许人们喂这些猫，因为这样会招来老鼠。

Feeding the cats also causes people to leave their own unwanted cats in the area because they know their cats will be fed.

喂猫还会导致人们把自己不想要的猫留在这个地区，因为他们知道他们的猫会被喂饱。

The plan says that the animal welfare organization that is chosen will be responsible for deciding whether the cats will be adopted, placed in a temporary home, kept in a shelter or destroyed.

该计划称，被选中的动物福利组织将会负责决定这些猫是被收养、被安置在临时住所、留在收容所还是被杀死。

The National Park Service said that the six-month time limit to trap the cats might be extended if progress is made.

国家公园管理局表示，如果取得进展，诱捕猫咪的六个月期限可能会延长。

If that does not happen, then the current plan would end, and the service would pay for a removal agency.

如果没取得进展，那么目前的计划将结束，公园管理局将会支付转移猫的费用。

Salicrup said finding a home for so many cats is difficult.

萨利克鲁普说，为这么多猫找到一个家很困难。

Save a Gato has talked with animal shelters on the U.S. mainland.

“拯救猫”组织已经与美国大陆的动物收容所进行了交谈。

They are unwilling⁴ to take the cats.

他们不愿意带走猫。

"The response always is, 'You cannot bring 100 cats here,'" she said.

她说：“他们的反应总是，‘你不能把100只猫带到这里来’”。