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美国禁止象牙交易 全球协力拯救濒危大象

The Obama administration has unveiled a comprehensive strategy for combating wildlife trafficking in hopes of curbing² illicit³ poaching that is threatening to wipe out elephants, rhinoceros⁴ and other endangered species in Africa. The document issued Tuesday places an almost complete ban on the ivory trade in the United States. Meanwhile, representatives of many African countries are meeting with world's leading conservationists in London to discuss how to stop the illegal sale of ivory.

奥巴马政府宣布了一项全面打击野生动物走私的禁令，以期遏止令非洲的大象、犀牛和其他濒危物种面临灭绝的非法偷猎行为。星期二（2月11日）颁布的这一禁令几乎全面禁止在美国境内进行象牙交易。与此同时，许多非洲国家的代表与世界顶尖的动物保护专家正在伦敦举行会议，商讨如何从源头杜绝非法象牙交易。

A large pile of ivory was crushed in central London as a symbolic⁵ gesture, ahead of a major summit this week aimed at curbing illegal wildlife trade. Rowena Paxton was among citizens who gave away their ivory items to be crushed.

一大堆象牙制品在伦敦中区被碾碎，捣毁。这是本周在伦敦举行的针对遏止野生动物非法交易的重要会议揭幕前的一个象征性的活动。一些英国人带来了自己家中的象牙制品。伦敦市民罗维娜·帕克斯顿是其中之一。

"I feel like a big weight has been taken off me and I'm now to say goodbye and I just say please, please save our elephants, save our rhino," said Paxton.

她说：“我感觉自己卸下了一个沉重的负担。我现在能跟象牙作别了。我想说的是，请求大家救救我们的大象，救救我们的犀牛。”

A 1989 ban outlawed⁶ the international trade in ivory, but cross-border smuggling⁷ continues. Conservationists estimate that more than 25,000 elephants are killed across Africa each year so their tusks⁸ can be extracted for ivory. French customs official Sebastien Tiran said France seizes at least a half-ton of ivory per year.

早在1989年，一百多个国家通过了国际象牙贸易禁令。但是跨境走私活动仍屡禁不止。动物保护人士估计，非洲每年大约有2.5万头大象被猎杀。偷猎者要的是能够制成象牙制品的象牙。法国海关官员塞巴斯蒂安·蒂兰说，法国每年缴获至少半吨的象牙。

"What we have noticed regarding trafficking of protected species is that there is a lot of change, but one thing that never changes is the interest of consumers for ivory," said Tiran.

他说： “我们注意到，受保护物种走私的情况有了很大的变化，但是消费者对象牙的兴趣确没变。”

To curb¹ the illegal ivory trade, experts said it is important to reduce the demand.  Many blame China for the continued large ivory trade. Some residents of Hong Kong hold annual protests against the practice.

专家们认为，要制止象牙的非法交易，重点是要减少对象牙的需求。许多人指责中国长期以来一直在进行大宗象牙交易。一些香港市民则每年举行抗议活动，反对象牙交易。

"I think Chinese people's idea about this kind of animal product is changing. It's not like before, we are changing,” said Amy Wang, a woman from mainland China living in Hong Kong.

参加抗议活动的王女士是现居香港的内地人。她说： “我认为中国人对动物制品的这种观念正在发生转变。不像从前了，我们都在改变。”

Destruction of the existing stockpile is another way of undermining the trade, although some people say it also makes the ivory more expensive. The World Wildlife Fund reported that the price of ivory in China has reached $2,000 per kilogram. China has cracked down on smugglers recently and has joined the United States, France, Britain and others in destroying illegal ivory stockpiles. French Minister of Ecology Phillippe Martin said it is an important gesture.

销毁现有库存象牙是另一个对付非法交易的方式，尽管一些人说，这样做会抬高象牙价格。世界野生动物基金会表示，在中国，象牙的价格已经高达每公斤两千美元。不过，中国政府也在加紧打击走私者，并且加入到美国、法国和英国等国家的行列，对非法库存象牙予以销毁。法国生态部长菲利普·马丁说，中国作出这样的姿态非常重要。

"The fact that China crushed, as we do today, six tons of seized ivory is very important because there are consumers in China, so our message to traffickers is - this (the crushing) is our statement, and to consumers - this (ivory) isn't worth anything; elephants should be protected in Africa," said Martin.

他说：“事实上，和我们当前的做法一样，中国将缴获的6吨象牙予以销毁具有重要意义，因为在中国有象牙消费者。所以，我们要让走私者知道，销毁象牙就是我们的态度。对于消费者，要让他们知道象牙并不值钱，应该保护非洲的大象。”

Conservationists say that Africa's elephant population has dwindled⁹ from millions to about 500,000, and that nearly 10 percent are being slaughtered¹⁰ each year.  They warn that only tough action can save the elephants from extinction¹¹.

动物保护人士说，非洲的大象数量已经从数百万减少到大约50万，而每年有百分之十的大象遭到猎杀。他们警告说，要拯救大象，只能用强硬手段。