幾十只考拉在澳大利亞的伐木種植園被“屠殺”

幾十只考拉在澳大利亞的伐木種植園被“屠殺”

In between the felled trees and barren soil, dozens and dozens of koalas have been found dead or starving at a plantation in Australia.

在被砍伐的樹木和貧瘠的土壤之間，澳大利亞的一個種植園里發(fā)現了幾十只或死或餓的考拉。

Local sources have told Friends of the Earth (FOE) that “hundreds of koalas” have been killed or injured at a blue gum tree plantation near Cape Bridgewater in the Australian state of Victoria.

當地消息人士告訴地球之友(FOE)，在澳大利亞維多利亞州布里奇沃特角附近的一個藍桉樹種植園里，“數百只考拉”被殺或受傷。

Stephie (@Stephiewashere)

Blue gum trees (Eucalyptus globulus) are much more than a home to koalas, they are also a vital source of nutrition. So, when huge swathes of blue gums were slashed at the plantation during logging season late last year, dozens lost shelter and were faced with starvation.

藍桉樹(藍桉樹)不僅是考拉的家，也是重要的營養(yǎng)來源。因此，當去年年底的伐木季節(jié)，大片的藍桉樹被砍倒時，數十只考拉失去了棲身之所，面臨著饑餓。

"A couple of days ago people apparently witnessed the bulldozing of many dead koalas into slash piles," FOE said in a statement over the weekend.

“幾天前，人們親眼目睹了許多考拉尸體被推土機壓成碎片，”福在周末的一份聲明中說。

Police have declared the Cape Bridgewater plantation a “crime scene.” Under the Australian Wildlife Act 1975, those found responsible for killing, harassing, or disturbing wildlife can land themselves with an $8,000 AUD ($5,360 USD) fine, with an additional $800 AUD ($536 USD) per head of wildlife.

警方已經宣布布里奇沃特角種植園為“犯罪現場”。“根據1975年澳大利亞野生動物法案，那些對殺害、騷擾或干擾野生動物負有責任的人將面臨8000澳元(5360美元)的罰款，每頭野生動物還將面臨800澳元(536美元)的罰款。”

State authorities are also on the scene to help locals and conservation groups relocate the koalas, along with providing the suffering animals with food, water, and veterinary care. So far, authorities have reportedly removed around 80 koalas from the area.

國家當局也在現場幫助當地居民和環(huán)保組織安置考拉，同時為這些受苦的動物提供食物、水和獸醫(yī)服務。據報道，到目前為止，當局已經從該地區(qū)轉移了大約80只考拉。

“Unfortunately, a number of koalas have had to be euthanized on-site due to injuries or starvation,” Victoria’s Department of Environment, Land, Water, and Planning said in a statement.

維多利亞州環(huán)境、土地、水和規(guī)劃部在一份聲明中說:“不幸的是，由于受傷或饑餓，許多考拉不得不被現場安樂死。”

“The Conservation Regulator is taking this matter very seriously and is investigating the events that led to this incident. There are penalties for killing, harassing or disturbing wildlife and for animal cruelty under Victorian law,” it added.

“環(huán)保監(jiān)管機構非常重視這件事，并正在調查導致這起事件的原因。根據維多利亞法律，殺害、騷擾或干擾野生動物以及虐待動物都要受到懲罰。”

Lily D'Ambrosia, Australia Minister for Energy Environment & Climate Change, expressed her anger on Sunday, tweeting: “I am appalled by reports of dead, injured and starving koalas on private property near Cape Bridgewater.”

澳大利亞能源環(huán)境與氣候變化部長莉莉·達姆布羅西亞周日在推特上表達了她的憤怒:“我對布里奇沃特角附近私人地產上死去、受傷和挨餓的考拉的報道感到震驚。”

Keith Troeth, whose family reportedly owns the Cape Bridgewater plantation, told The Age that a small number of animals may have died during logging in November 2019, however, they made "every effort to avoid fatalities".

據報道，凱斯·特羅斯的家族擁有布里奇沃特角種植園。他告訴《時代》雜志，2019年11月，一小部分動物可能死于伐木，但他們“盡了一切努力避免死亡”。

The situation of koalas on the plantation is not straightforward. According to FOE, the population is descended from koalas originally from nearby Gippsland. When numerous blue gum plantations started to appear in the 1990s, hundreds of koalas settled here, bred, and thrived. Koalas frequently undergo booms and busts in their population cycles, however, they undergo a significant loss once the plantation growing period comes to an end, every 14 years or so.

考拉在種植園里的情況并不簡單。根據地球之友的說法，考拉的祖先是附近吉卜斯蘭的考拉。20世紀90年代，當大量的藍桉樹種植園開始出現時，數百只考拉在這里定居、繁殖并茁壯成長?？祭谒鼈兊姆N群周期中經常經歷繁榮和蕭條，然而，一旦種植園的種植期結束，每14年左右，考拉就會經歷一次巨大的損失。

Worse still, the incident near Cape Bridgewater is on the back of the huge losses seen from this season’s bushfires. Experts believe that around 1.25 billion animals may have been killed directly or indirectly by the ongoing fires. While it’s not possible to know precise numbers, koalas were among the hardest-hit species, primarily because they’re slow-moving and live among the forested areas being decimated by the fires.

更糟糕的是，布里奇沃特角附近的這次事故是在本季度的森林大火造成巨大損失之后發(fā)生的。專家們認為，約有12.5億只動物可能已經直接或間接地死于正在進行的火災。雖然不可能知道確切的數字，但考拉是受影響最嚴重的物種之一，主要是因為它們行動緩慢，生活在森林被大火摧毀的地區(qū)。

Hundreds of koalas slaughtered during the logging of bluegum plantation near Portland. Company is #southwestfibre, a joint venture between #midway and #mitsui. This is absolutely unacceptable.

在波特蘭附近的藍膠種植園伐木期間，數百只考拉慘遭屠殺。公司是西南纖維公司，是中途島公司和三井公司的合資企業(yè)。這是絕對不能接受的。