密歇根新闻广播 我不应该养自己的狮子

 

You don't have to be a geneticist to know species need genetic¹ diversity. That's the key practical reason why most societies forbid incest. European kings and queens often married first cousins, and that helped spread hemophilia throughout the royal families of Europe.

Well, that's at least as true of zoo animals. There are genetic records -- stud books, they are sometimes called – and what are called Species Survival Plans.

If the Detroit Zoo wanted to breed lions, for example, they might be directed by AZA, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums², to mate their lioness with a lion in San Francisco, say, to get the greatest possible genetic diversity in the offspring.

That's one reason you don't want your neighbor deciding he is going to buy some lions and tigers, start a roadside zoo, and begin breeding them. There's also another, perhaps more compelling reason; it just isn't safe. You can, to some extent, "tame" a lion cub³, though that to an extent outrages⁴ the animal's true nature. But you cannot domesticate⁵ them.

They are ticking time bombs, and often good at escaping. Once upon a time, we had responsible politicians who understood this. Eighteen years ago, the Michigan Legislature passed the Large Carnivore Act of 2000, which was designed to protect both the well-being⁶ of the animals and the public by restricting the keeping and breeding of them to facilities accredited⁷ by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the Association of Sanctuaries⁸.

But the bill had one fatal flaw. A drafting error – call it an elaborate typo – that screwed everything up. Ron Kagan, the longtime CEO of the Detroit Zoo, told me it was supposed to exempt⁹ accredited zoos from laws forbidding "holding, breeding and transferring large carnivores," but instead it accidentally referred to a different section.

When that was noticed, you might have expected the lawmakers would come back the next week and fix it. But this is the Michigan Legislature. It's been 18 years, and it still hasn't been fixed¹⁰. That, Kagan told me "technically¹¹ prevents AZA-accredited zoos in Michigan from breeding large carnivores and contributing to the conservation of endangered species."

Now, State Rep. Thomas Albert, a Republican from near Ionia, has offered a bill that would make things worse. House Bill 5778 would pretty much allow anyone to apply to the Department of Agriculture for a permit to breed large carnivores.

That's what controversial roadside zoos like Oswald's Bear Ranch¹² have wanted. The law, Kagan told me, would technically not allow me to sell the tigers I was breeding to people who thought one would be cute to have around the house, but it wouldn't set up any enforcement mechanism¹³, perhaps because doing so would cost the taxpayers¹⁴ a lot.

Kagan, who went to Lansing to talk to the legislature about this, said he asked one lawmaker, "Do you want your neighbor to have a lion and a tiger?"

Taken aback, the legislator said "No!"

But that's what would happen. Here's a crazy idea. I suggest a sensible lawmaker immediately draft a bill just fixing the mistake in the old one, and gets his colleagues to pass it.

Let's fix the problem first. Later, the lawmakers can debate whether they really want to let me start a kennel¹⁵ to breed crack house lions.

Jack¹⁶ Lessenberry is Michigan Radio's Senior Political Analyst¹⁷. Views expressed in his essays are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Michigan Radio, its management or the station licensee, The University of Michigan.

1 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

2 aquariums   

n.养鱼缸，水族馆( aquarium的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Biotope aquariums represent the natural environments of ornamental fish. 生态鱼缸表现出观赏鱼的自然生活环境。 来自互联网
• There are aquariums in many cities in the world. 世界上好多城市有水族馆。 来自互联网

3 cub   

n.幼兽，年轻无经验的人

参考例句：

• The lion cub's mother was hunting for what she needs. 这只幼师的母亲正在捕猎。
• The cub licked the milk from its mother's breast. 这头幼兽吸吮着它妈妈的奶水。

4 outrages   

引起…的义愤，激怒( outrage的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• People are seeking retribution for the latest terrorist outrages. 人们在设法对恐怖分子最近的暴行进行严惩。
• He [She] is not allowed to commit any outrages. 不能任其胡作非为。

5 domesticate   

vt.驯养；使归化，使专注于家务

参考例句：

• Many thousand years ago people learned how to domesticate animals.数千年以前人们就学会了饲养动物。
• If you domesticate this raccoon,it will have trouble living in the wild.如果你驯养这只浣熊，它生活在野外将会有困难。

6 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

7 accredited   

adj.可接受的；可信任的；公认的；质量合格的v.相信( accredit的过去式和过去分词 )；委托；委任；把…归结于

参考例句：

• The discovery of distillation is usually accredited to the Arabs of the 11th century. 通常认为，蒸馏法是阿拉伯人在11世纪发明的。
• Only accredited journalists were allowed entry. 只有正式认可的记者才获准入内。

8 sanctuaries   

n.避难所( sanctuary的名词复数 )；庇护；圣所；庇护所

参考例句：

• The designation of special marine reserves and marine sanctuaries shall be subject to the State Council for approval. 海洋特别保护区、海上自然保护区的确定，须经国务院批准。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After 1965 he acquiesced when they established sanctuaries on that soil. 1965年以后，他默认了他们在那块土地上建立庇护所。 来自辞典例句

9 exempt   

adj.免除的；v.使免除；n.免税者，被免除义务者

参考例句：

• These goods are exempt from customs duties.这些货物免征关税。
• He is exempt from punishment about this thing.关于此事对他已免于处分。

10 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

11 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

12 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

13 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

14 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

15 kennel   

n.狗舍，狗窝

参考例句：

• Sporting dogs should be kept out of doors in a kennel.猎狗应该养在户外的狗窝中。
• Rescued dogs are housed in a standard kennel block.获救的狗被装在一个标准的犬舍里。

16 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

17 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。