2007年VOA标准英语-Bushmeat Bust Draws New Attention to Illegal Ga

By Nick Wadhams
Nairobi
13 July 2007

The confiscation¹ of more than 400 pounds of zebra meat destined² for Nairobi markets is drawing new attention to the trade in illegal game meat in Kenya. As Nick Wadhams reports from our East Africa bureau in Nairobi, wildlife officials have found it nearly impossible to control the bushmeat trade, which can pose serious health risks.

Three people were arrested after Kenyan police inspected a car bound for Nairobi early Saturday morning and found plastic bags full of the zebra and wildebeest meat. The meat was unrefrigerated and had not been inspected, but would almost certainly have gone on sale in Nairobi.

Officials with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) say the seizure³ is part of a wider effort to crack down on the hunt and sale of game such as zebra, giraffe and buffalo⁴ in Kenya. Later Saturday, thirteen people were arrested in the Tsavo West National Park on poaching allegations.

Peter Njoroge slices pieces of beef from a carcass in his makeshift butchery in the Kibera slum in Nairobi, Kenya, 10 July 2007

KWS spokesman Gichuki Kabukuru says the meat is illegal and can pose serious health risks because it has not been properly prepared or handled. People may also not know what they are buying because the meat is sometimes passed off as beef from cattle or goats.

"That is one thing we've been trying to send the public, because the consumption of that meat, which has not been tested essentially⁵, exposes the public to such diseases as anthrax and a number of these beef-oriented diseases. It is a constant threat," he said.

The bushmeat trade has been a major concern in Kenya for years. Officials say one problem is that the criminal code's punishment for poachers are not severe. That means that poachers are coming across the border from Tanzania, where anti-poaching laws are more strict. Seven of those arrested in the Tsavo West incident were Tanzanian.

And Kenya's population is growing so quickly that people come into contact with animals more often or are desperate for something to eat.

Kenya hopes to address all of those issues with an overhauled⁶ wildlife policy, which is set to come before parliament later this year. But KWS spokesman Kabukuru says it's hard to tell people not to stop hunting game illegally.

"The bushmeat fight has been an ongoing⁷ process. Our greatest challenge is one the issue of population growth, of rapid population growth," he added.  "So definitely they hunt for subsistence. Even when we are putting everything in place it is very difficult to convince a hungry man that he will not eat."

One of the starkest⁸ signs of the extent of the bushmeat trade came in a 2004 investigation⁹. The London-based conservation group Born Free conducted a random¹⁰ sample of some 200 butchers in Nairobi and found that a quarter of the meat was bushmeat, while 20 percent was game meat mixed with meat from goats and other domestic animals.

1 confiscation   

n. 没收, 充公, 征收

参考例句：

• Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels. 没收一切流亡分子和叛乱分子的财产。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言
• Confiscation of smuggled property is part of the penalty for certain offences. 没收走私财产是对某些犯罪予以惩罚的一部分。

2 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。

3 seizure   

n.没收；占有；抵押

参考例句：

• The seizure of contraband is made by customs.那些走私品是被海关没收的。
• The courts ordered the seizure of all her property.法院下令查封她所有的财产。

4 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

5 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

6 overhauled   

v.彻底检查( overhaul的过去式和过去分词 )；大修；赶上；超越

参考例句：

• Within a year the party had drastically overhauled its structure. 一年内这个政党已大刀阔斧地整顿了结构。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A mechanic overhauled the car's motor with some new parts. 一个修理工对那辆汽车的发动机进行了彻底的检修，换了一些新部件。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

8 starkest   

（指区别）明显的( stark的最高级 )； 完全的； 了无修饰的； 僵硬的

参考例句：

• Among the starkest-and the most worrying-have been measures of world trade. 而最典型也是最让人担心的是世界贸易的方式。
• Climate change and the depleted ozone layer are among the starkest examples. 气候变化和臭氧层耗减就是其中最明显的例子。

9 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

10 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。