VOA常速英语2007-Australia Prepares For Battle Against Wild Pigs

By Phil Mercer
Mission Beach, Australia
22 October 2007

Australia is struggling to control the rising population of wild pigs, which are already thought to number about 23 million.  Experts in the northern state of Queensland have warned that the animals are riddled¹ with disease and are causing huge damage to crops, as well as threatening other animals.  Phil Mercer reports from the town of Mission Beach.
 
There are now more wild pigs than people in Australia. In the rain forests of Queensland, professional hunters like Paul Smith, an ex-soldier, are catching² large numbers of these scavengers.

"Look, the pigs are a very intelligent animal," Smith said. "They've got the cognitive³ development of a three-year-old child so they can think and plan, and they do have a methodical approach to the way they go about their business."

Smith left the armed forces two years ago to return home to Mission Beach. That old army discipline is coming in handy in the fight against the wild pig. 

 "It's just like operating in a guerrilla warfare⁴ environment.  I found that that military background has really helped me in my approach, looking at the problem and figuring out a way how to deal with it," Smith said. "You know, over the years I went to different places such as Somalia, Iraq, East Timor, through Southeast Asia, and again that helps coming back to your own home town like I have, and realizing that we've got a pretty serious problem here environmentally, and developing a way to combat that threat."     

Tracking the pigs' movements is a tough business as trappers wade⁵ through dense⁶ forest looking for clues.

This is hog⁷ heaven.  There is plentiful⁸ food and a warm climate.  The pigs face few natural predators⁹ apart from crocodiles and dingoes. 

All that stands between a greater surge in pig numbers in this part of the tropics is a small band of trappers.  

It is the end of the line for these pigs.  They are riddled with disease and worms and - sadly for meat-eaters - they cannot be eaten.

Simon, one of the boarbusters, is in charge of this part of the operation.

"Yeah, we've just placed a trap in the scrub here where people can see it sort of thing, and the pigs feel like they're protected - they're not out in the open and … as you can see, the results are pretty good," Simon said.

REPORTER: What will happen to these pigs?

SIMON: They'll be shot, destroyed, and then placed in a pit on this farm.  Yeah, this farm's got a pit, and they're put in there."

Farmers are bearing the brunt of the devastation¹⁰ the feral pests leave behind.

The pigs are drawn¹¹ to the sweet taste of sugarcane, while their incessant¹³ foraging¹⁴ carves up cultivated land and uproots¹⁵ plants.  

Farmer Terry Hampson's land is regularly invaded.

"We actually see them quite often late in the afternoon, or early morning is probably when you see most of them heading back to the national parks," Hampson said. "They're night feeders.  Come through the place, roam around all night.  You see quite a lot of tracks on your headlands and roadways, so we know they're there all the time.  Pigs got the ability to build up very quick once they get a good source of food nearby, or they can talk to each other and tell their mates to come.  They seem to get the message across pretty quick."    

It rains a lot here - sometimes up to six meters a year.

The pigs dislodge soil into streams and rivers in the high country, and there is the danger it will end up polluting the Great Barrier Reef, which stretches along the Queensland coast. There are fears too that diseases and parasites¹⁶ the pigs carry could end up being washed into the ocean.

Environmental campaigner Keith Noble says there is broad agreement that the pigs have to be controlled.

"The feral pig problem is probably the number one issue in the wet tropics - certainly the number-one feral animal issue," Noble said. "It's also the issue where we can get a general agreement across the whole community, whether you are a farmer, a conservationist or a small land-holder. Everybody is affected¹⁷ by feral pigs and everyone agrees we need to do something about them."  

Another big worry is that the pigs might spread infection.

An Australian government scientist, James Butler, says they could accelerate an outbreak of foot and mouth disease - a highly contagious¹⁸ disease that affects cattle, sheep and goats along with pigs. 

"If foot and mouth was ever to hit Australia, which thanks heavens it hasn't, but if it did, pigs would be one of the major vectors for that, and given that there are almost ubiquitous everywhere and very difficult to control, they would be a major, major problem," Butler said.

It is thought the pigs were originally brought here by European settlers in the 18th century.  Like other introduced species - including rabbits, red foxes and cane¹² toads¹⁹ - they became an environmental disaster.  Places like Mission Beach and surrounding farming areas are putting up a fight - but the battle is likely to last for many years to come.

1 riddled   

adj.布满的；充斥的；泛滥的v.解谜，出谜题(riddle的过去分词形式)

参考例句：

• The beams are riddled with woodworm. 这些木梁被蛀虫蛀得都是洞。
• The bodies of the hostages were found riddled with bullets. 在人质的尸体上发现了很多弹孔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

3 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

4 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

5 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

6 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

7 hog   

n.猪；馋嘴贪吃的人；vt.把…占为己有，独占

参考例句：

• He is greedy like a hog.他像猪一样贪婪。
• Drivers who hog the road leave no room for other cars.那些占着路面的驾驶员一点余地都不留给其他车辆。

8 plentiful   

adj.富裕的，丰富的

参考例句：

• Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
• Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。

9 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

12 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

13 incessant   

adj.不停的，连续的

参考例句：

• We have had incessant snowfall since yesterday afternoon.从昨天下午开始就持续不断地下雪。
• She is tired of his incessant demands for affection.她厌倦了他对感情的不断索取。

14 foraging   

v.搜寻（食物），尤指动物觅（食）( forage的现在分词 )；（尤指用手）搜寻（东西）

参考例句：

• They eke out a precarious existence foraging in rubbish dumps. 他们靠在垃圾场捡垃圾维持着朝不保夕的生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The campers went foraging for wood to make a fire. 露营者去搜寻柴木点火。 来自辞典例句

15 uproots   

v.把（某物）连根拔起( uproot的第三人称单数 )；根除；赶走；把…赶出家园

参考例句：

16 parasites   

寄生物( parasite的名词复数 )； 靠他人为生的人； 诸虫

参考例句：

• These symptoms may be referable to virus infection rather than parasites. 这些症状也许是由病毒感染引起的，而与寄生虫无关。
• Kangaroos harbor a vast range of parasites. 袋鼠身上有各种各样的寄生虫。

17 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

18 contagious   

adj.传染性的，有感染力的

参考例句：

• It's a highly contagious infection.这种病极易传染。
• He's got a contagious laugh.他的笑富有感染力。

19 toads   

n.蟾蜍，癞蛤蟆( toad的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• All toads blink when they swallow. 所有的癞蛤蟆吞食东西时都会眨眼皮。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Toads have shorter legs and are generally more clumsy than frogs. 蟾蜍比青蛙脚短，一般说来没有青蛙灵活。 来自辞典例句