China animal activists seek to muzzle dog meat festival
中国动物保护人士集体抵制玉林狗肉节
A notorious Dog Meat Festival in southwest China has sparked an outcry among the nation’s growing ranks of pet lovers, who say the event has spurred an illicit trade in stolen pets.
在中国南方声名狼藉的狗肉节，引发了正不断增多的宠物爱好者的公开抗议。这些宠物爱好者表示，狗肉节活动刺激了被窃宠物的非法贸易。
Dog meat is a popular winter food in parts of China and Korea, where the rich meat is believed to help keep people warm. But the Yulin Dog Meat Festival, which will be held this weekend in Guangxi near the border with Vietnam, has caused domestic and international outrage, with opponents saying many of the animals are cruelly treated and illegally obtained.
在中国和韩国部分地区，狗肉是一种很受欢迎的冬季食品，其丰富的肉质被视有助于保暖。然而，将于本周末举办的玉林狗肉节(Yulin Dog Meat Festival)，已经引起了中国国内甚至国际上的愤慨。该活动将在毗邻越南的中国广西自治区举办。反对者表示，在该活动中许多动物遭到了残酷对待，它们的获取途径也是非法的。
The festival has for several years been galvanising（刺激）China’s animal rights movement, which has arisen as the number of prosperous middle-class pet owners has grown. Many activists plan to travel to Yulin to protest against the festival, where an estimated 2,000 dogs a day are slaughtered（屠杀）.
在中国拥有宠物的中产阶级人数不断壮大之际，中国的动物保护组织也随之崛起。多年来玉林狗肉节的举办，令这些组织深感震惊。许多动保人士计划赶赴广西玉林，抗议这一狗肉节活动，预计狗肉节的日屠狗数量达2000条。
Originally a summer solstice celebration, the local government began promoting the event as a dog meat festival in 2009. The Yulin government began to distance itself last year amid（在...之下） an outpouring of online criticism.
玉林狗肉节最初只是夏至的庆祝活动。2009年，当地政府开始以狗肉节的品牌宣传这一活动。去年，由于网上出现的大量批评声，玉林政府开始放弃自己原本的宣传定位。
“Average people are not aware of the cruelty that dogs experience in the process of dog meat production. If they knew, they wouldn’t be saying this is simply a question of whether you love dogs or not,” said Zhang Yuanyuan, a volunteer who plans to travel to Yulin from Shenzhen in an attempt to persuade often-hostile locals to ditch the practice.
计划赶赴玉林的志愿者张媛媛(Zhang Yuanyuan，音译)表示：“普通人不知道狗肉生产过程中，狗所经历的残酷对待。如果他们知道，他们不会说这只是你爱不爱狗的问题。”张媛媛计划从深圳赶赴玉林，试图劝说当地人放弃这一行为。不过，当地人对他们往往充满敌意。
A four-year study by Hong Kong-based group Animals Asia documented networks of dog traders that bring strays or stolen pets to northeast, central and southern China, especially during the winter months when dog meat is popular. The investigation found that stolen or stray dogs were so cheap that breeding dogs for meat was unprofitable.
总部驻香港的亚洲动物基金(Animals Asia)开展了一项为期四年的研究，对狗肉交易商组成的网络做了记载。这些狗肉交易商将走失或失窃的宠物运往中国的东北、华中和华南——特别是在狗肉受欢迎的冬季。该调查发现，被窃或走失的狗太过廉价，致使饲养肉狗变得无利可图。
A survey conducted by Animals Asia in rural areas found that 70 per cent of Chinese villagers had lost at least one dog to thieves.
该组织在中国农村地区开展的调查发现，70%的村民丢失过至少一条狗。
“A lot of the animals that we see in these trucks are in such horrendous condition that by the time they get to the ultimate trade markets a lot of them have died,” said Mary Peng, whose veterinary business in Beijing has treated dogs rescued from trucks bound for slaughterhouses.
Mary Peng在北京拥有多家兽医店，曾治疗过从前往屠宰场的卡车中救出的小狗。她说：“我们在这些卡车上看到的许多动物，都处于极其可怕的生存状态，导致它们中的许多在抵达最终交易市场时已经死去。”
Some of the activists travelling to Yulin may unwittingly be encouraging the trade in dogs by paying to rescue them from dog dealers. Last year saw ugly scenes of dealers in Yulin mistreating dogs in front of crowds of tourists and activists to spur them into buying the injured animals.
部分前往玉林的动保人士，可能会由于掏钱从狗贩手中救下小狗，无意中鼓励了贩狗活动。去年，玉林曾出现过狗贩在游客和动保人士面前虐狗，以刺激他们买下受伤小狗的丑陋场景。
The practice of buying the dogs has split the Chinese animal rights community, with many believing it is counter-productive（反作用）. “I am completely opposed to this,” said Ms Zhang, arguing that it simply adds to the market for dogs. “You can’t just look at how many dogs are being eaten but also the violent capture and transport of these dogs.”
买下小狗的行为也在中国的动物保护界产生了分歧，许多人认为这么做会产生反作用。张媛媛声称，这么做只会扩大贩狗市场的规模。她说：“我完全反对这么做。你不能只关注人们吃了多少狗，还要关注对这些狗的暴力捕获和运输过程。”
重点单词：
spark：引发
outcry：公开抗议
illicit trade：非法贸易
outrage：愤怒
galvanize：刺激
