杀手猫狗

钱润荷

Theyre cute， theyre furry and sometimes they like to bring you dead birds or rats. Thats right， were talking cats here.

可爱的，毛茸茸的，有时会给你捎来死了的小鸟或老鼠的小家伙——对啦，我们正在谈论的就是猫咪。

The fact is that free-roaming （adj. 敞养的；散养的） house cats are dangerous to our environment. Studies have shown that even well-fed cats kill wildlife when given a chance. Not only that， but an especially skilled cat can kill up to one thousand animals per year.

事实上整天在外头闲逛的家猫对我们的环境构成威胁。研究表明若有机会，吃得好的家猫也会猎杀野生动物。不仅如此，那些狩猎技术格外娴熟的猫咪甚至每年可以杀死多达一千只动物。

Even if your own cat isnt a skilled killer， with millions of cats on the loose （逍遥法外；散漫） all over the world， even ten animals per cat adds up quickly. Whats more， only some of these kills are pests （n. 害虫；有害生物） like rats. Others are birds and mammals （n. 哺乳动物）.

好吧，你说你家的猫咪并不是个技术精湛的杀手。但当数百万只猫咪在世界各地游荡时，就算1只猫咪只杀死10只动物，累积的速度也会是非常快的。而且只有一部分被杀死的动物诸如耗子是有害的。剩余的受害者则是鸟类和其它哺乳动物。

Cats in the United States kill up to 3.7 billion birds every year and as many as 20 billion small mammals. Cats also hurt animals like hawks （n. 鹰） and weasels （n. 黄鼠狼） by stealing their food.

在美国，猫每年杀害37亿只禽类和200亿只小型哺乳动物。猫咪还会偷食其它动物诸如老鹰和鼬鼠的食物而威胁到它们的生存。

This problem is becoming more serious by the fact that people take pretty good care of their cats. This means that disease and competition for food dont affect the cat population.

人们对猫咪的精心照料使这个问题更加严重。这意味着疾病以及对食物的争夺都不会影响到猫咪的数量。

Cats are born hunters—theyll hunt for pleasure even if theyre not hungry. So what can you do to stop them？

然而猫咪却是天生的猎食者——它们甚至会在食物充足的情况下为获得乐趣而捕猎。那么，你能做些什么来阻止它们呢？

Do what you can to keep your cats indoors， no matter how wistfully （adv. 惆怅地；渴望地） they stare out the window. Also， do your share to keep the population under control.

首先，无论猫咪望向窗外的眼神有多么充满渴望，你都要尽一切可能让它们呆在家里。此外，控制好猫咪的数量。

Cats kill a lot of wild birds and other animals. And dont other pets kills wild animals， too？

猫会杀死许多野生鸟类和其它动物。但是其它宠物就不会杀害野生动物吗？

Yes， they do. In fact， after cats， one of the main killers when it comes to harming wildlife is none other than mans best friend—dogs.

是的，其它的宠物也会。事实上，紧随猫其后，杀死其它野生动物的主犯正是人类最好的朋友——狗。

And many cats roam free while dogs are either kept on leashes （n. 拴狗的皮带） or in yards. So how can dogs possibly do as much damage as cats？

许多猫行动自由，而狗却被拴着或是关在院子里。这样，狗为什么能与猫造成同样大的破坏呢？

Well， in the United States， dogs dont kill as many animals as cats. But consider that in many other countries dogs are not kept in yards. Experts estimate （v. 估计） that around 75% of dogs around the world are free. And when they are free， they are also killers.

在美国，狗杀死的动物没有猫杀死的多。但在其他许多国家，狗没有被关在院子里圈养。专家们估计全球大约75%的狗是自由的。一旦行动自由，狗也是杀手。

For example， in the 1980s researchers found that a single stray （adj. 独自的；无主的） dog in New Zealand killed as many as 500 birds called Kiwis. In 2006， a small pack of stray dogs on Viwa Island in the South Pacific came close to wiping out （消灭） a species of ground frog.

比如，在80年代，研究人员发现在新西兰一只流浪狗杀害了多达500只几维鸟。2006年，在南太平洋维瓦岛上，一小群流浪狗几乎使一种陆地蛙濒临灭绝。

So， in fact， the point is not the killer cats or dogs but how human beings keep the balance of nature.

因此，实际上问题的关键不在于杀手猫咪或者狗，而在于人类如何保持自然的平衡。