财经金融新闻 专家热议野生动物保护法修订草案

Wildlife protection has long been a contentious¹ issue in China, with animal rights groups criticizing existing laws for lacking sufficient protection for endangered species.

在中国，野生动物保护一直是个热议问题，有动物权利保护组织对现有法案提出批评，称缺少对濒危物种的有效保护。

The current wildlife protection law was implemented² in 1989, and it allows such practices as farming tigers and bears for traditional Chinese medicine and other commercial uses.

《野生动物保护法》的最新修订要追述到1989年，该法案让老虎养殖，活熊取胆以及其它商业用途钻了空子。

But critics say the animals are kept captive in terrible conditions and argue that farming practice itself actually reduces wildlife population.

有批评人士指出，动物的“监禁”生活苦不堪言，并称养殖本身就在减少野生动物数量。

Take the example of the bear-farming industry.

我们以“熊产业”为例。

According to Animals Asia, a Hong Kong-based charity, black bears that are farmed for bile, which is used to produce traditional Chinese medicine, suffer from poor living conditions.

据香港亚洲动物基金会表示，为制作中草药材，饲养黑熊汲取胆汁，而黑熊的生存条件极其恶劣。

It also argues that it is cruel to extract bile from living bears because it causes immense distress³.

并称对于活熊取胆，黑熊将承受巨大痛苦。

What's more, while the number of black bears in captivity⁴ has risen to 10,000 in recent years, the population of black bears in the wild, for instance in Changbai Mountains in the northeast fell by 93.4 percent from 1990 to 2010.

近些年，人工养殖黑熊数量已升到1万头，而从1990-2010年，东北长白山的野生黑熊数量下降93.4%。

Many animal protection experts interviewed by Caixin have also said the law has loopholes that create leeway for poaching and illegal trading of wildlife products, which has pushed many species to the verge⁵ of extinction⁶ over the past two decades.

许多接受财新采访的动物保护专家指出，《野生动物保护法》存在许多漏洞，这为捕杀以及非法买卖野生产品开了绿灯，过去20年间，许多野生动物濒临灭绝。

Some changes to that law have been proposed and a draft has been open to public consultation⁷ between January 29 and February 5.

从1月29日-2月5日，新法案开始公开征求意见。

But conservationists denounced the revision, saying that instead of offering protection for endangered animals in China, it has gone the very opposite direction.

但有保护人士对修正案进行谴责，称此法案并没有达到保护野生动物的作用，而恰好背道而驰。

They say the new draft will merely regulate and even provide further legal backing for the continued utilization⁸ of wildlife for commercial purposes, instead of banning the practice.

新法案仅仅进行了规定，甚至对商业用途提供了后续法律支持，而不是令行禁止。

Of course, those involved in the drafting process have pointed⁹ out the revision represents at least some progress. For instance the draft proposes to illegalize cruelty on animals for the first time.

一些专业人士指出，这份草案也有一些亮点。明确规定不得虐待野生动物。

But critics say the wording is too vague to be useful and denounce other aspects such as the clause that allows animals to be used for exhibitions and performances.

但有批评人士指出，新法案用词模糊，并对允许动物表演进行了谴责。

Indeed, organizations such as China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation and Friends of Nature have saddled up to organize online campaigns to push legislators to alter the amendments¹⁰.

“中国生物多样性保护”“绿色发展基金会”“自然之友”等组织发起网上动员，呼吁立法人员对修订草案进行修改。

But, they may face an uphill battle.

这也是一场硬仗。

For one, China has had a long tradition of using wild animals for food and medicine, which has led to the formation of an entire business chain that depends on the notion of using wild animals and plants as commercial means, said Zhou Ke, a law professor at Renmin University.

据人民大学法律学教授周克表示，将动物用作药材和烹饪的传统早已有之，动植物商用的巨大产业链也随之形成，

He said this attitude must be changed before the wildlife can really be protected.

他认为要让野生动物真正得到保护，我们的态度必须发生转变。

1 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

2 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

3 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

4 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

5 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

6 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

7 consultation   

n.咨询；商量；商议；会议

参考例句：

• The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
• The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。

8 utilization   

n.利用，效用

参考例句：

• Computer has found an increasingly wide utilization in all fields.电子计算机已越来越广泛地在各个领域得到应用。
• Modern forms of agricultural utilization,have completely refuted this assumption.现代农业利用形式，完全驳倒了这种想象。

9 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

10 amendments   

（法律、文件的）改动( amendment的名词复数 )； 修正案； 修改； （美国宪法的）修正案

参考例句：

• The committee does not adequately consult others when drafting amendments. 委员会在起草修正案时没有充分征求他人的意见。
• Please propose amendments and addenda to the first draft of the document. 请对这个文件的初稿提出修改和补充意见。