《中英對照讀新聞》Livingstone under fire over anti-pigeon fight 倫敦市長李文斯頓為反鴿戰爭飽受批評

俞智敏

London mayor Ken Livingstone came under fire recently over the cost of his efforts to rid Trafalgar Square of pigeons by using hawks.

倫敦市長李文斯頓最近因為利用老鷹來清除特拉法加廣場鴿子的費用問題遭到批評。

Livingstone, who famously branded pigeons "rats with wings", banned feeding the birds on the famous central London square in November 2003 and dispatched two Harris hawks as a deterrent, prompting protests from animal rights campaigners around the world.

李文斯頓的名言之一就是曾把鴿子冠以「有翅膀的老鼠」惡名，他在2003年11月下令禁止民眾在倫敦市中心這座著名的廣場上餵食鴿子，更派出兩隻哈里斯獵鷹負責嚇跑鴿群，引發全球動物權益倡議人士的抗議。

Some 2,500 pigeons have disappeared from the square since but, according to Mike Tuffrey, Liberal Democrat spokesman on the London Assembly, an estimated 1,000 diehards have stayed put. Tuffrey said the scheme had cost taxpayers 226,000 pounds since the mayor first unleashed the hawks.

自此之後，約2500隻鴿子已從廣場上消失，但根據英國自由民主黨倫敦市議會發言人塔夫瑞表示，大約1000隻頑固的鴿子仍死守廣場不去。塔夫瑞說，自從市長首度放出獵鷹以來，這項計畫已經花掉了納稅人22萬6千英鎊。

"The pigeons in Trafalgar Square are both a nuisance and a health hazard that most Londoners would be happy to see gone altogether," said Tuffrey. "But at a cost of 90 pounds per pigeon removed, serious doubts should be raised about the effectiveness of the scheme as well as its value for money."

「特拉法加廣場的鴿子不但惹人討厭，更可能危害健康，多數倫敦人會很高興見到鴿子全部消失，」塔夫瑞說。「但以每移除一隻鴿子必須花費90英鎊的代價而言，這項計畫的效率及投資價值理應受到嚴重質疑。」

新聞辭典

come under fire：片語，指遭到批評，如︰The government has come under fire for its decision to close the mines.（政府因決定關閉礦場而遭到批評。）

deterrent：文中作名詞，指威嚇的力量、制止物，如︰Tougher prison sentences may act/serve as a deterrent to other would-be offenders.（更重的刑罰或許能成為對其他可能違法者的嚇阻力量。）

diehard（die-hard）：名詞，指頑固、不願接受改變者、倔強的人（帶有負面意味），如︰diehard fans（死忠樂迷），或a die-hard conservative（死硬派保守主義者）。