《中英對照讀新聞》E-mail from purported animal activist forces English fishing village to end annual eel game 自稱保護動物人士的電子郵件迫使英國漁村停辦年度海鰻大賽

For over 30 years the tradition had been the same--two teams of fishermen stood on wooden platforms as human bowling pins, hurling a dead eel toward each other.

過去30多年來的傳統都是如此──兩隊漁夫站在木製平台上當成人肉保齡球瓶，向對方拋擲一尾死海鰻。

But it has been abruptly abandoned after an animal rights activist threatened to disrupt the latest tournament, organizers said.

但一名保護動物人士威脅要擾亂最近的大賽後，這項活動突然停辦，主辦單位說。

The practice is the annual highlight in Lyme Regis, a small English coastal town about 250 kilometers southwest of London. The object of the game is knock the humans off the platforms by swinging a 11-kilogram eel at them and points are scored.

這項活動是位於倫敦西南250公里的英國海邊小鎮萊姆．雷吉斯的年度重頭戲。比賽的玩法是，朝對方隊員拋出11公斤重的海鰻，將人擊出平台，並計算雙方得分。

Crowds have flocked to the English fishing village since 1974 to watch rival teams swing the giant conger eel -- suspended in the harbor by a rope -- and local residents said they are dismayed at the demise of their historic event.

自1974年以來，人們每年到這個英國小鎮參觀兩隊人馬朝彼此丟海鰻──海鰻用繩子垂吊在港內──當地人說，他們對於停辦這項歷史性的活動覺得失望。

Andrew Kaye, a resident and spokesman for the Lyme Regis lifeboat crews, said an anonymous e-mailer had called the practice disrespectful to the dead fish. The lone activist threatened to film the contest to cause adverse media attention, Kaye said.

萊姆．雷吉斯的居民也是當地救生船員（協會）發言人安德魯．凱伊說，一封暱名電郵指控這個活動毫不尊重死魚。這名動保人士威脅要將活動拍攝下來，引起輿論批評，凱伊說。

"We decided that it really wasn、t worth upsetting anybody by going ahead with using a dead conger," Kaye said. "But it、s a dead conger, for Pete、s sake. I shouldn、t think the conger could care one way or another."

「我們決定因為使用死海鰻而引起任何人不爽，實在不值得，」凱伊說。「但這不就是一條死鰻魚，天老爺。我不認為（死掉的）海鰻會在意這事。」

新聞辭典

purported：傳說中的、據稱的、可能是真的。

conger：或conger eel，海鰻。

bowling pin︰保齡球瓶。