双语新闻：新加坡将终止公共住房禁猫令

Sunny is a proud Singaporean citizen who follows the laws of her country. Mostly, anyway. For the last three years, she has been illegally sheltering a cat called Mooncake.

Sunny是一位自豪的新加坡公民，她遵守自己国家的法律。大多数情况下，无论如何。在过去的三年里，她一直在非法庇护一只名叫月饼的猫。

A 34-year-old Singaporean law bars cats from government-built housing. Such housing is where most of the city-state's population lives - and Mooncake too, although secretly.

新加坡一项已有34年历史的法律禁止猫进入政府建造的住房。这种住房是这个城市国家大多数人口居住的地方，月饼也是，尽管是秘密的。

Luckily for Sunny and her cat, Singapore plans to end the feline ban later this year.

对Sunny和她的猫来说幸运的是，新加坡计划在今年晚些时候结束对猫的禁令。

The legal change will free Sunny from the threat of a $3,007 fine or her pet's possible removal.

这项法律变更将使Sunny免受3007美元罚款或可能将其宠物带走的威胁。

The 30-year-old works in marketing and asked to be identified only by her first name for the security of her cat. She did not want to risk officials removing Sunny from her care.

这位30岁的女孩从事市场营销工作，为了猫的安全，她要求只透露自己的名字。她不想冒险让官员将Sunny从她的护理中带走。

She wonders about the reasoning behind the ban.

她想知道禁令背后的原因。

"Cats are so much quieter than dogs. If they allow dogs, I don't understand why not cats."

“猫比狗安静得多。如果他们允许狗，我不明白为什么不让猫。”

Officials rarely enforce the ban. And the law is only for the high-rise Housing and Development Board (HDB) buildings. Eighty percent of Singapore's 3.6 million people live in the buildings.

官员们很少执行禁令。该法律仅适用于住房和发展委员会（HDB）的高层建筑。新加坡360万人口中有80%居住在这些建筑中。

The ban does, however, make life difficult for cat owners. One problem they face is health care for their animals. Medical insurance cannot be provided for illegal pets.

然而，这项禁令确实给猫主人的生活带来了困难。他们面临的一个问题是动物的健康护理。不能为非法宠物提供医疗保险。

Lawmaker Louis Ng campaigned to end the ban. He said the law sometimes becomes part of disputes between neighbors.

立法会议员吴（Louis Ng）发起运动，要求终止这项禁令。他说，法律有时会成为邻居之间纠纷的一部分。

"A lot of times, the cats are collateral when there's neighborly disputes," he said. One neighbor will threaten to tell police about another neighbor's cat.

他说：“很多时候，当发生邻里纠纷时，猫是抵押品。”一个邻居会威胁要把另一个邻居的猫告诉警察。

Established in 1960, the HDB plan sells government-built housing directly to citizens for 99-year special agreements. The policy has led to one of the world's highest home-ownership rates. Still, people who live in the buildings are subject to many restrictions and laws.

HDB计划成立于1960年，以99年的特殊协议直接向公民出售政府建造的住房。这项政策导致了世界上住房拥有率最高的国家之一。尽管如此，住在这些建筑里的人还是受到许多限制和法律的约束。

Cats were permitted in HDB apartments until 1989 when lawmakers changed the housing law. On its website, the HDB says cats are difficult to keep contained in individual homes. It also says that cats drop hairs and other body waste in public areas and can be loud.

直到1989年立法者修改了住房法，HDB公寓才允许养猫。HDB在其网站上表示，猫很难被单独控制在家中。它还说，猫在公共场所掉毛和其他身体排泄物，声音可能很大。

It is not clear what made the Singapore government decide to end the cat ban. But a 2022 government public opinion study may have been the turning point. The study results showed 9 out of 10 Singaporeans believed that cats were fit to keep as pets, including in HDB buildings.

目前尚不清楚是什么促使新加坡政府决定终止禁猫令。但2022年的一项政府民意研究可能是一个转折点。研究结果显示，十分之九的新加坡人认为猫适合作为宠物饲养，包括在HDB大楼里。

Officials are requesting public input on a proposed cat management policy.

官员们要求公众就拟议的猫管理政策发表意见。

Dogs have not been subject to a similar ban, but they are limited to one per household. And, only some kinds of dogs are permitted.

狗没有受到类似的禁令的约束，但每家每户只能养一只。而且，只有某些种类的狗是允许的。

Market research company Euromonitor International has predicted a big increase in cat ownership. It estimated Singapore's current pet population at around 94,000 cats and 113,000 dogs.

市场调查公司欧睿国际预测，养猫人数将大幅增加。据估计，新加坡目前的宠物数量约为9.4万只猫和11.3万只狗。

Lawmaker Ng, who ran an animal aid group before joining parliament in 2015, also hopes the change will lead more people to adopt rescued cats.

议员吴在2015年加入议会之前经营着一个动物援助组织，他也希望这一变化能让更多人收养获救的猫。

Under the new rules, HDB homeowners would be limited to two pet cats. The rules also require owners to register their pets with the government. The owners must also get special identifying electronic devices for the animals. And, owners must install protective devices on windows so cats do not get out.

根据新规定，HDB的房主只能养两只宠物猫。这些规定还要求宠物主人向政府登记他们的宠物。主人还必须为动物配备特殊的识别电子设备。而且，主人必须在窗户上安装保护装置，这样猫就不会出去了。

Some cat lovers say the new laws do not go far enough.

一些爱猫人士表示，新的法律还不够。

Thenuga Vijakumar from the Cat Welfare Society wants the law to require sterilization. Another cat rescuer, Chan Chow Wah, urges officials to punish irresponsible owners. He said he had to take care of a cat that fell from a high window in one home. The owners refused to pay its medical bills. Wah also took care of another cat that was abandoned because he had heart disease.

猫福利协会的Thenuga Vijakumar希望法律要求绝育。另一位救猫人陈周华敦促官员惩罚不负责任的猫主人。他说他必须照顾一只从一户人家高高的窗户掉下来的猫。业主拒绝支付医疗费用。华还照顾了另一只因患有心脏病而被遗弃的猫。

"I end up taking over these cases. Basically, I look after them until they pass away," said Chan, estimating he spent $45,100 on cat medical expenses in 2022.

“我最终接手了这些病例。基本上，我会照顾它们直到它们去世，”陈说，他估计2022年在猫的医疗费用上花费了45100美元。

But for many cat owners the law will bring peace of mind.

但对于许多猫主人来说，这项法律会让他们安心。

Including Mooncake's: "I think it's a good thing and it's a step forward after 30 years," Sunny said.

包括月饼：“我认为这是一件好事，这是30年后向前迈出的一步，”Sunny说。