双语新闻：塞尔维亚中心照顾被遗忘的老动物

Serbian Zeljko Ilicic saved his first horse from death 12 years ago and found his calling.

塞尔维亚人泽尔伊科·伊利西奇12年前拯救了他的第一匹马，并找到了自己的使命。

Ilicic is now 43. He set up the Balkan country's only horse sanctuary in 2015. It is found on a small piece of land in Lapovo in Central Serbia.

伊利西奇现在43岁了。2015年，他建立了巴尔干国家唯一的马匹保护区。它是在塞尔维亚中部拉波沃的一小块土地上发现的。

The sanctuary is called Old Hill. In the Serbian language, it is Staro Brdo. Around 80 horses have passed through it over the years. Ilicic has taken in tortured, old, and abused horses. But he also takes those that had lived well but could no longer be looked after by caretakers.

这个圣地被称为“老山”。在塞尔维亚语中，它是斯塔罗·布尔多。这些年来，大约有80匹马经过这里。伊利西奇收留了饱受折磨的老马和受虐的马。但他也照顾那些生活得很好但无法再由看护人照顾的人。

Animal care is an ongoing difficulty in Serbia. The country has little money and struggles with corruption after years of crisis and conflict in the 1990s.

动物护理在塞尔维亚是一个持续的困难。在20世纪90年代经历了多年的危机和冲突后，该国几乎没有钱，而且正在与腐败作斗争。

While officials run shelters for dogs, there are no state-supported places for horses. Ilicic's sanctuary today provides shelter and care for many animals.

虽然官方为狗提供收容所，但没有国家支持的马匹收容所。伊利西奇的保护区今天为许多动物提供庇护和照顾。

"I witnessed the sad destiny of a horse that was about to be put down," he said, recalling the first animal he saved. "I decided to try to bring him back to life and to keep him if he survived. And he did."

“我目睹了一匹马即将被放倒的悲惨命运，”他回忆起他救下的第一只动物时说。“我决定试着让他复活，如果他活下来的话，我会留住他。他做到了。”

One of Ilicic's favorite horses over the years, he said, was a local race winner that eventually died peacefully of old age.

他说，伊利西奇多年来最喜欢的马之一是当地比赛的获胜者，最终与世长辞。

Another, now 28, was in a number of Serbian movies before retiring to the sanctuary. The horse struggles to move its legs because of a disease called arthritis.

另一位现年28岁，在退休前曾出演过多部塞尔维亚电影。这匹马因为一种名为关节炎的疾病而难以移动双腿。

Some horses end up in a place where they are "neither a pet nor a working machine" on farms, he said. So, they become difficult for people to keep.

他说，有些马最终在农场里“既不是宠物，也不是工作机器”。因此，人们很难留住它们。

Violeta Jovic works at the sanctuary. She remembers a time in 2020 when officials stopped a truck filled with over 20 illegally transported horses. The horses were on their way to be killed.

维奥莱塔·约维奇在避难所工作。她记得2020年的一次，官员们拦下了一辆满载20多匹非法运输马匹的卡车。马正在被杀的路上。

She said they were all in bad condition but that the sanctuary found new homes for most of them. Three of the horses remained under their care.

她说，他们的状况都很糟糕，但保护区为他们中的大多数人找到了新家。其中三匹马仍由他们照料。

"This is no longer volunteerism, or a hobby, or a job," she added. "This has become my life."

“这不再是志愿服务、爱好或工作，”她补充道。“这已经成为我的生活。”

The sanctuary tries to find new homes for as many animals as possible to ensure there is always space for new ones. When a horse is ready for a new home, the sanctuary starts looking for possible caretakers.

保护区试图为尽可能多的动物寻找新的家园，以确保总是有空间容纳新的动物。当一匹马准备好新家时，保护区开始寻找可能的看护人。

Staro Brdo today looks after many different kinds of animals. Those animals include nine horses, two donkeys, a buffalo, seven pigs, and several cats, dogs, and chickens. The sounds of different animal noises fill the small sanctuary when visitors arrive.

斯塔罗·布尔多今天照顾许多不同种类的动物。这些动物包括九匹马、两头驴、一头水牛、七头猪以及几只猫、狗和鸡。当游客到达时，不同动物的声音充斥着这个小避难所。

Among the animals are seven cats that were found as babies in a closed plastic bag, and seven baby Yorkshire pigs that were rescued from a waste center. Now, they are fully grown animals that enjoy being with people.

在这些动物中，有七只猫是在一个封闭的塑料袋中发现的，它们还是婴儿，还有七只约克郡小猪是从垃圾处理中心救出来的。现在，它们是完全长大的动物，喜欢和人在一起。

The sanctuary operates on donations. But Ilicic said he hopes to become self-supporting through different programs, including therapy riding.

该保护区依靠捐款运作。但伊利西奇表示，他希望通过不同的项目，包括骑行治疗，实现自给自足。

So far, Serbian officials have helped by repairing local roads. And Ilicic has worked with officials to support the health of animals that people in the area keep. But there is still no system to register his sanctuary as an official horse sanctuary.

到目前为止，塞尔维亚官员通过修复当地道路提供了帮助。伊利西奇与官员合作，支持该地区人们饲养的动物的健康。但目前还没有将他的保护区注册为官方马匹保护区的制度。

He said, "We are the only ones in the Balkans at the moment and we hope that, in time, we will be recognized by the state."

他说：“我们是巴尔干半岛目前唯一的国家，我们希望，随着时间的推移，我们将得到国家的承认。”