新奇事件簿 新西兰将向害虫宣战（在线收听）

The government of New Zealand has declared war on countryside pests. It wants to make the country predator-free by 2050. It has set an ambitious target to eradicate all non-native species from the country over the next three decades. New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key says he intends to introduce strategies to cull introduced species, especially predators that threaten New Zealand's native birds. He said: "Rats, possums and stoats kill 25 million of our native birds every year, and prey on other native species such as lizards. Along with the rest of our environment, we must do more to protect them." His government has awarded $28 million to a company that will help implement his plans.

新西兰政府向农业害虫宣战。称将在2050年前实现农业无害虫。还制定了未来三十年消灭外来物种的远大理想。新西兰总理基尔称，他打算宰杀一部分外来物种，特别是一些可威胁本国飞禽的物种。他称：“每年有2500万只本国飞禽因老鼠、负鼠以及白鼬死亡，像蜥蜴等当地物种也未能幸免。为了我们的环境，我们必须要保护它们。基尔政府已向某公司资助2800万美金，用于实施这一计划。

Mr Key told reporters: "This is the most ambitious conservation project attempted anywhere in the world, but we believe if we all work together as a country, we can achieve it." It will take the combined efforts of the private and public sectors as well as community groups. Few people in New Zealand want more of the country's native birds to become extinct. Since European settlers arrived in the mid-nineteenth century and brought with them rats and other predators, New Zealand has lost a huge variety of birds. These include the bush wren, the laughing owl and the mysterious starling. The country's national bird, the kiwi, is currently under threat. Only five per cent of kiwi chicks survive to adulthood.

基尔对记者表示：“这是全球最伟大的保护项目，规模绝对史无前例，但如果我们同心协力，我们就能实现。”此计划需要私营企业，公共部门以及社区组织的共同努力。谁都不希望本国飞禽走向灭绝。19世纪中期，欧洲殖民者来到这里，他们带来了老鼠等其它害虫，新西兰失去了大量飞禽。这包括bush wren，笑鸮以及太平洋辉椋鸟。国鸟几维鸟正遭受威胁。仅5%的几维鸟雏鸟能存活到成年。