美国国家公共电台 NPR Ringling Bros. Curtain Call Is Latest Victory For Animal Welfare Activists

 

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus performs its final show in New York City this evening, capping off a nearly 150-year run. And while many are sorry to see the circus close, animal welfare activists² are counting this as a major victory. The Humane³ Society of the United States and the people for the Ethical⁴ Treatment of Animals see the closing as part of a broader trend in the way Americans think about animals and treat them.

GREG ALLEN, BYLINE⁵: If you've gone to the circus in recent years, you probably saw them.

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UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTORS: (Chanting) Boycott⁶ the circus.

ALLEN: That's from a protest outside the Ringling Brothers Circus when it was in Phoenix⁷ earlier this year. In January when Feld Entertainment said this would be the Ringling Brothers' last season, animal welfare groups cheered. The circus and how it treats its animals, especially elephants and big cats, has long been a focus for the groups.

LISA LANGE: PETA was founded in 1980 and Ringling Brothers was a target of ours from the very beginning.

ALLEN: Lisa Lange with PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, believes the protests played a key role in changing public attitudes about the circus. In announcing the end, Feld Entertainment chairman Kenneth Feld acknowledged the decades of conflict with animal welfare groups. But he said the decision was made because of declining attendance and a change in public taste. Here's Lange.

LANGE: Yes. People no longer have a taste for that kind of entertainment, but we believe it's because they now know what that kind of entertainment cost those animals.

ALLEN: The demise⁸ of the Ringling Brothers' circus comes just months after SeaWorld agreed to stop breeding its captive orcas and to move away from its signature theatrical⁹ shows around the same time the National Aquarium¹⁰ in Baltimore announced it was closing its dolphin exhibit and would move its dolphins to an ocean sanctuary¹¹. Wayne Pacelle of the Humane Society of the U.S. believes a major change is going on in how Americans view animal welfare issues.

WAYNE PACELLE: It's happening across the economy. It's happening across our culture, and we're really seeing a rising tide of consciousness when it comes to the treatment of animals.

ALLEN: Animal welfare groups have seen success in many other areas as well. In the last few years, major pork producers have eliminated confinement¹² pens for pregnant sows. Egg producers have also begun getting rid of cages for their chickens. Pacelle says some of this has been accomplished¹³ through legislation. In other cases, change had been pushed by retailers¹⁴ like McDonald's and Wal-Mart.

PACELLE: In most cases, companies are now adapting. They're simply changing the way they do business to reflect a greater consciousness about animals and ringing the animal cruelty out of the business model.

ALLEN: Lisa Lange of PETA says after decades of working on animal rights, she believes the movement has finally hit the mainstream¹⁵. A major factor she believes is the power of social media.

LANGE: We have the ability to show people a video of elephants, for example, being beaten behind the scenes at a Ringling Brothers' performance, and we put that up on our Facebook page, Instagram. We tweet it out and millions of people see that video within hours.

ALLEN: Pacelle cites a powerful example, the death of Cecil the lion. For years, the Humane Society worked to stop trophy¹⁶ hunting of lions, elephants and other big game with limited success. But two years ago when a Minnesota dentist killed a lion in Zimbabwe named Cecil, Pacelle recalls it went viral.

PACELLE: Many of these things go unnoticed, but one brave Zimbabwean activist¹ got a hold of the image of the grinning hunters over the slain¹⁷ lion. And within 24 hours, more than a billion people had seen it.

ALLEN: Soon, all the major air carriers had agreed to ban shipment of lion, elephant, rhino¹⁸ and other large animal trophies¹⁹ worldwide. Pacelle believes concern about animal welfare is now a value shared by all Americans. The question is what that will mean for agriculture, entertainment, research and other fields in which animals play a role? Greg Allen, NPR News.

1 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

2 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

4 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

7 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

8 demise   

n.死亡；v.让渡，遗赠，转让

参考例句：

• He praised the union's aims but predicted its early demise.他赞扬协会的目标，但预期这一协会很快会消亡。
• The war brought about the industry's sudden demise.战争道致这个行业就这么突然垮了。

9 theatrical   

adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的

参考例句：

• The final scene was dismayingly lacking in theatrical effect.最后一场缺乏戏剧效果，叫人失望。
• She always makes some theatrical gesture.她老在做些夸张的手势。

10 aquarium   

n.水族馆，养鱼池，玻璃缸

参考例句：

• The first time I saw seals was in an aquarium.我第一次看见海豹是在水族馆里。
• I'm going to the aquarium with my parents this Sunday.这个星期天，我要和父母一起到水族馆去。

11 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

12 confinement   

n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限

参考例句：

• He spent eleven years in solitary confinement.他度过了11年的单独监禁。
• The date for my wife's confinement was approaching closer and closer.妻子分娩的日子越来越近了。

13 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

14 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

15 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

16 trophy   

n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品

参考例句：

• The cup is a cherished trophy of the company.那只奖杯是该公司很珍惜的奖品。
• He hung the lion's head as a trophy.他把那狮子头挂起来作为狩猎纪念品。

17 slain   

杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
• His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。

18 rhino   

n.犀牛，钱, 现金

参考例句：

• The rhino charged headlong towards us.犀牛急速地向我们冲来。
• They have driven the rhino to the edge of extinction.他们已经令犀牛濒临灭绝。

19 trophies   

n.（为竞赛获胜者颁发的）奖品( trophy的名词复数 )；奖杯；（尤指狩猎或战争中获得的）纪念品；（用于比赛或赛跑名称）奖

参考例句：

• His football trophies were prominently displayed in the kitchen. 他的足球奖杯陈列在厨房里显眼的位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hunter kept the lion's skin and head as trophies. 这猎人保存狮子的皮和头作为纪念品。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》