南非当局，没收珍贵狮子去拍卖！

The South African Government has sparked outrage around the world after it was reported that it plans to auction off a confiscated white lion to raise funds for the country’s nation conservation department. Animal activists claim that the buyers will likely be wealthy hunters looking for easy trophies or businessmen involved in the lion bone trade.

据报道，当局从私人手中没收掉一头白狮子之后，居然准备拿去拍卖以为国家自然保护部筹集资金。动物活动家对此声称，买家很有可能是寻找易得战利品的富有猎人，或是参与狮骨贸易的商人。

Mufasa the white lion was confiscated as a cub from a private owner three years ago, and placed in the care of WildForLife, an animal rehabilitation charity in northern South Africa. Despite numerous requests to have Mufasa relocated to a wildlife conservation sanctuary which offered to care for Mufasa and his companion, Suraya, free of charge for the rest of their lives, government officials refused. To make matters worse, a few months ago WildForLife was notified by the South African Government that the rare white lion was going to be auctioned off to private buyers in order to raise funds for the nature conservation department. The charity has been involved in a legal battle to save Mufasa ever since.

这头白狮子名叫Mufasa，3年前还是幼崽时被当局从私人手中没收，并一直安置在位于南非北部的动物康复慈善机构WildForLife。尽管多次有人要求将Mufasa迁居到野生动物保护区，那里可以为Mufasa及其同类Suraya提供终身免费照顾，但政府官员们拒绝了此事。

更糟糕的是，几个月前，WildForLife接到了南非当局为了给自然保护部门筹集资金而准备将这头罕见白狮子拍卖给私人买家的通知。从那时起，该慈善组织为了拯救Mufasa而展开了法律之战。

Schouwstra added that, most likely, the buyers will be either trophy hunters participating in canned hunting (a common hunting method where the animal is kept in a confined area to make shooting it easier) or lion bone traders.

负责照顾Mufasa的兽医Tjitske Schouwstra表示，最有可能的买家要么是参与罐头狩猎的战利品狩猎者(一种将动物束缚在一片狭窄区域以方便射击的狩猎方法)或狮骨贸易商。

“A lot of overseas hunters come to South Africa to shoot lions and obviously a canned hunt is an insurance that you can get a trophy,” Schouwstra said. “The other possibility is the lion bone trade, which is very prominent at the moment.”

他对此解释道：「很多海外猎人前来南非射杀狮子，而罐头狩猎显然是一个确保获得战利品的保险方式」「此外，这头狮子也有可能用于狮骨贸易，该产业目前极为兴盛」。

Canned hunting and lion bone trading have become big businesses in South Africa, and the South African reports that there are around 12,000 lions currently being bred in captivity for commercial purposes. Females are constantly bred to maintain a steady supply of lion cubs, which are either sold when they become old enough, or used in the breeding cycle.

据悉，罐头狩猎与狮骨买卖在南非已成为大买卖，目前在南非正有大约12000头狮子被圈养以作为商业用途。其中雌狮负责不断繁殖，以保持幼狮的稳定供应，幼狮长得足够大时要么被出售掉，要么就被留下来负责再次育种。

Mufasa is sterile, so he is of no use to lion breeders. Selling him to the highest bidder is the only way the Government can profit off of him, and the fact that he is a rare white lion means that he will most likely fetch a very good price. Experts estimate that there are only 300 white lions in the world, and just 13 living in the wild.

由于Mufasa不育，所以它对狮子育种商没有任何用处。把它卖给出价最高的人，是当局唯一可行的获利方式。而事实上，它是一头罕见的白色狮子，这意味着它将最有可能卖个好价钱。据专家估计，世界上只有300头白狮，其中只有13头生活在野外。

Knowing the grim fate that awaits Mufasa if he ends up being auctioned off by the Government, WildForLife, the charity that operates the Rustenburg Rehabilitation Center where the lion currently lives, started a legal battle against South Africa’s conservation department, and also launched an online petition to raise awareness about the situation.

WildForLife很清楚，如果Mufasa最终被政府拍卖成功，等待着它的只有悲惨命运。因此这家慈善机构与自然保护部打起了法律战，并发布了在线请愿书以唤起人们对于该狮子处境的认识。

Support for Mufasa has been pouring in from all over the world, and while the petition has yet to reach its goal of 290,000 signatures, the public outcry has prompted the South African to step in and launch an investigation into this case as well as the plight of captive lions in general.

Mufasa的支持者已经从世界各地涌入，虽然请愿尚未达到29万个签名的目标，但舆论已经一片哗然，促使南非当局介入并开始调查此次事件以及处于类似境况下的圈养狮子。

Authorities have declined the media’s requests for comments, claiming that the matter is in litigation, and Mufasa’s fate is still uncertain.

据悉，预期举行的拍卖会已经推迟。当局拒绝对媒体发表评论，并声称该案件还在诉讼中，Mufasa的命运仍然无法确定。